GIFT  OF 


THE  STRANGE  STORY  OF 
AHRINZIMAN 


THE  VISION  IN  THE  DESERT. 


THE  STRANGE  StOKY 
AHRINZIMAN 


BY 

ANITA  SILVANI 


SECOND  EDITION 


CHICAGO 

THE  PROGRESSIVE  THINKER  PUBLISHING  CO. 
1908 


COPYRIGHT,  1906 
BY  ANITA  S1LVAN1 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall 

Copyrighted  in  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain 


THE    STORY    OF  AHRINZIMAN 

TOLD    BY    HIMSELF 
INTRODUCTION 

The  philosophy  of  Ahrinziman,  the  Persian  —  what  life  hath  taught 
him  of  the  Soul;  life  lived  on  Earth  and  life  of  ages  in  the  Abyss  and  in  the 
Heavens  of  the  Beyond. 

To  each  one  comes  life's  lessons  in  different  form.  Let  him  that  would 
learn  the  meaning  of  this  tale  attend  to  these  words  that  he  may  the  better 
understand,  and  let  him  that  is  but  the  idle  hearer  of  a  story  pass  them  by. 


He  who  would  write  truly  the  history  of  any  Soul  must  take 
into  account  the  prenatal  conditions,  that  is,  those  which  have 
preceded  its  conception  into  mortal  form. 

A  Soul  germ  is  but  an  incomplete  unit  until  it  touches  the 
Plane  of  Earth  Life,  because  until  then  it  is  still  wanting  in  one, 
at  least,  of  the  elements  which  go  to  form  the  Perfect  Whole. 
And  although  at  the  death  of  the  earthly  body  the  Soul  would 
appear  to  cast  off  entirely  its  purely  earthly  attributes  with  the 
earthly  shell,  which,  like  the  husk  of  the  wheat,  has  concealed 
the  grain  within,  yet  it  does  not  do  so.  From  every  one  of  the 
lower  faculties  it  has  retained  the  Spiritual  germ,  and  these  germs 
of  the  grosser  propensities  may  be  called,  for  lack  of  a  better 
term  (there  being  no  word  in  the  English  language  which  exactly 
expresses  this  element,  and  this  element  only,  in  the  Soul),  the 
"Animal  Soul,"  since  they  are  typified  in  Man's  lower,  or  animal, 
propensities  and  are  the  "Soul"  elements  of  these  propensities. 
Therefore,  the  idea  which  has  prevailed  among  many  religious 
faiths,  that  at  death  there  is  a  complete  severance  between  the 
Animal  Soul  and  the  higher  Spiritual  faculties,  is  an  error  as 
absurd  as  it  is  pernicious,  because  men  are  thereby  led  to  give 
undue  prominence  to  the  purely  intellectual  and  moral  faculties 
and  to  cramp  and  neglect  the  due,  proper,  and  judicious  develop- 


b 


.THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


ment'and  regulation*  of  the  faculties  of  this  Animal  Soul,  which 
is  truly  not  only  an  immortal  part  of  the  Soul  itself,  but  quite  as 
needful  as  any  other  to  its  complete  evolution. 

The  Animal  Soul  contains  all  those  elements  which  give 
force  to  the  character.  Strength  to  will  and  to  act  with  decision. 
Power  to  command  and  to  contend.  Perseverance  to  struggle 
and  battle  with  the  trials  of  the  Earth  life  here  and  with  the  con- 
tending forces  of  the  Spiritual  World  hereafter.  All  the  elements 
which  go  to  make  Man  great  in  a  physical  as  well  as  moral  sense 
are  born  of  the  passions  of  this  Animal  Soul,  and  no  one  ever 
emerged  from  the  condition  of  the  Dreamer  and  Visionary  into 
the  active  agent  for  the  fulfillment  of  his  dreams  unless  he  cul- 
tivated the  powers  of  his  Animal  Soul  as  fully  as  those  of  his 
moral  and  intellectual  ones. 

The  love  of  conquest,  the  thirst  for  power  from  purely  selfish 
and  greedy  motives,  becomes  in  the  properly  developed  Spirit 
of  the  higher  spheres  the  strength  by  which  he  protects  his  weaker 
brethren,  and  by  which  he  contends  with  the  Powers  of  Evil  to 
overthrow  them  —  a  strength  and  force  of  will  which  are  developed 
first  in  the  rapacious  conflicts  of  the  Animal  Soul  during  the 
life  of  Earth  and  of  the  lower  spheres. 

From  the  equal  development  of  all  three  of  man's  Moral, 
Intellectual,  and  Physical  attributes  are  born  those  seeds  which 
spring  up  into  the  beautiful  flowers  of  a  truly  Spiritual  character. 

All  the  lower  propensities  of  Man's  Soul  have  each  their 
spiritual  seed,  and  although  when  unduly  developed  and  un- 
equally balanced  by  the  development  of  Man's  higher  nature 
and  uncontrolled  by  his  moral  and  intellectual  powers  these 
lower  propensities  bring  suffering  and  destruction  on  all  sides, 
yet  their  very  excess  of  development  creates  a  force  of  character 
which  (when  the  higher  attributes  become  equally  developed 
and  in  their  turn  the  controlling  powers  of  Man's  Soul)  will 
send  the  Soul  upwards  with  a  velocity  and  a  strength  of  flight 
equal  to  that  with  which  the  evil  propensities  dragged  it  down, 
and  these  natures  will  possess  a  grandeur  of  character,  a  power 
and  breadth  of  thought,  which,  when  combined  with  the  per- 
fections of  the  higher  Soul  enable  their  possessors  to  become 
rulers  in  the  Spiritual  World. 

Our  teachings  are  that  the  Soul,  in  its  passage  downwards 
from  the  central  source  of  life,  travels  through  all  the  intermediate 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  3 

spheres  by  a  series  of  what  may  be  termed  "Births,"  since  it 
clothes  itself  in  each  sphere  with  something  appertaining  to 
that  sphere  which  is  requisite  to  the  completion  of  its  individu- 
ality, and  when  it  touches  the  Earth  sphere,  and  comes  in  con- 
tact with  the  material  organisms  of  its  mortal  parents,  it  obtains 
the  last  elements  necessary  to  form  the  Perfect  Whole.  At 
this  stage  it  has  completed  the  first  half  of  its  pilgrimage  and 
assumed  all  those  materials  from  which  it  is  to  evolve  an  in- 
dividual consciousness  for  itself,  and  becomes  at  the  moment 
of  its  final  birth  into  Earth  life  a  responsible  being,  to  reap  the 
reward  or  suffer  the  penalties  of  its  own  actions. 

From  this  stage  (the  Earth  life)  it  proceeds  upwards  through 
a  series  of  Deaths;  i.  e.,  castings  off  of  the  grosser  husks  from 
which  it  has  extracted  the  Spiritual  germs  (which  husks  are  no 
longer  needful  or  useful  to  the  Soul).  There  are  some  who 
object  to  the  word  "Death"  as  signifying  to  the  ordinary  mind 
a  condition  of  decay.  Very  good;  let  them,  by  all  means,  if 
they  prefer  it,  say  that  the  Soul  returns  through  the  second  half 
of  the  cycle  of  its  progress  through  a  succession  of  re-births; 
only,  let  them  also  remember  that  the  process  of  Death,  or  dis- 
integration of  the  form  which  the  Soul  has  left  (a  process  not 
experienced  until  the  Soul  has  entered  the  Earth  life),  is  no  less 
essential  to  its  progression.  This  is  because  so  long  as  a  shell 
once  inhabited  by  a  Soul  (be  it  a  mortal,  an  astral,  or  an  envelop 
of  any  of  the  higher  spheres)  retains  any  cohesion  in  its  particles, 
so  long  will  it  act  as  a  weight,  retarding  the  Soul's  progress  to  a 
higher  sphere;  the  ties  between  a  Soul  and  its  envelop  remain- 
ing in  a  greater  or  less  degree  as  long  as  the  envelop  retains  any 
impression  of  the  Soul's  individuality. 

The  sooner,  then,  that  the  Soul's  envelop  is  disintegrated 
and  dispersed  into  the  elements  of  the  sphere  in  which  it  was 
formed,  the  sooner  will  the  Soul  be  free  from  all  ties  to  it,  and 
able  to  rise  into  the  higher  sphere  for  which  it  has  become  fit. 
Hence  the  reason  that  Fire,  the  most  powerful  and  purifying 
disperser  of  atoms,  was  used  by  the  Ancients  of  my  country 
and  of  others  to  hasten  the  process  of  Death,  which  is  disin- 
tegration. Hence  the  reason  that  the  earlier  Fire-worshipers, 
as  they  have  erroneously  been  called,  paid  homage  to  the  Divine 
Fire,  or  Source  of  Life,  which  the  Sun  and  earthly  fire  were 
thought  to  symbolize.  Heat  is  life;  cold  is  death;  and  it  is 


4  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

the  antagonism  between  them  which  makes  fire  so  valuable 
an  agent  in  dispersing  the  dead  elements  of  a  body  which  the 
Soul  has  ceased  to  animate. 

The  Soul  then  at  birth  passes  into  matter  and  the  full 
measure  of  its  descent  being  thus  accomplished,  it  arises  from 
it  as  a  glorious  resurrection,  ascending  stage  by  stage  until 
the  full  cycle  of  its  progression  being  completed,  it  assumes 
a  God-like  state,  subordinate  only  to  that  of  the  Supreme.  But 
so  great,  so  vast,  so  far-extending,  is  the  limit  of  the  orbit  of  the 
Soul's  progress,  that  it  is  impossible,  even  in  thought,  to  follow 
it  from  the  first  departure  from  the  sphere  of  the  Divine  till  its 
return  to  it  again.  Neither  can  we  know  or  even  guess  at  the 
possible  future  of  the  Soul  which  has  attained  to  the  God-like 
condition,  and  the  first  cycle  of  whose  development  has  thus 
been  accomplished.  So  far  we  can  see,  and  no  farther,  but 
what  we  do  see  gives  us  an  earnest  of  our  hope  that  as  we  climb 
to  each  mountain-top  of  knowledge  a  fresh  Land  of  Promise 
shall  lie  open  before  our  eyes. 

Upon  the  threshold  of  life  stand  two  Angels  —  the  Angels 
of  the  Light  and  of  the  Dark  Spheres  —  and  it  is  their  task  to 
observe  into  which  sphere  the  Star  of  the  Soul  that  has  just  been 
born  ascends.  These  two  Angels  are  represented  as  weaving 
eternally  the  light  and  dark  threads  to  produce  the  golden  or 
the  somber  texture  that  is  to  prevail  in  the  web  of  the  Soul's 
existence,  the  happy  or  sorrowful  days  of  its  life.  And  as  a 
man  leads  a  moral  or  an  immoral  life,  so  will  he  draw  down 
to  him  from  the  light  or  the  dark  spheres  good  or  evil,  light  or  dark 
qualities  with  which  to  endow  the  Soul  which  shall  be  trans- 
mitted into  life  through  him,  and  thus  will  his  children  be  in 
affinity  with  the  light  or  dark  spheres,  and  so  will  the  stars  of 
those  spheres  rule  or  control  their  destinies  and  be  the  dominating 
influence  in  shaping  their  lives. 

These  two  spheres  of  light  and  dark  qualities  exist  eternally 
because  they  are  the  antithesis  of  one  another,  the  poising  scales 
which  keep  the  balance  of  progress  even  and  hold  up  each  other 
by  the  equality  of  their  power,  causing  between  them  that  fric- 
tion which  prevents  stagnation,  the  true  death  of  progress,  and 
resembling  (the  light  and  the  dark,  the  good  and  the  evil)  two 
great  millstones  which,  grinding  on  eternally,  free  the  Soul  from 
the  rough  rocks  of  ignorance  and  the  coarse  dross  of  purely 
material  desires. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  5 

To  the  student  of  the  Spiritual  firmament  these  two  spheres 
appear  to  revolve  round  two  mighty  stars  —  the  star  of  each 
typifying  by  its  color  the  distinction  between  the  qualities  be- 
stowed by  each  —  while  another,  a  third  star  with  its  spheres, 
seems  to  hover  ever  between  them,  reflecting  in  its  rays  a  blend- 
ing of  color  drawn  from  the  higher  qualities  evolved  from  the 
influence  of  both. 

In  the  spheres  of  the  Star  of  pure  unsullied  light  are  found 
the  dwelling  places  of  those  Souls  who  have  been  uncontaminated 
by  any  earthly  sin.  They  have  but  touched  upon  the  borders 
of  Earth  life,  and  so  have  attained  conscious  existence  only  to 
pass  onward.  They  have  not  known  Earth  life  save  for  a  brief 
period  during  which  mortality  has  clothed  their  Souls,  but  in 
which  their  consciousness  has  been  too  slight  to  enable  them  to 
learn  any  of  Earth's  lessons.  They  are  free  from  sin  because 
they  have  never  felt  temptation.  Their  garments  are  unsullied 
by  the  mire  of  life  because  they  have  never  felt  the  cravings 
of  their  animal  Soul  for  those  things  through  which  it  derives 
its  nourishment.  In  them  the  Animal  Soul  entirely  slumbers; 
the  strength  and  power  with  which  its  development  endows  the 
Soul  who  has  conquered  its  temptations  and  made  it  subject  to 
the  higher  self  is  not  theirs,  for  they  have  never  shared  in  life's 
conflicts,  and  the  fierce  fires  of  passion  have  never  been  kindled 
in  their  hearts. 

In  the  pure  white  and  silver  rays  of  the  Star  which  dominates 
this  sphere  there  are  found  no  traces  of  any  color,  no  shadow 
of  a  darker,  deeper  tint,  no  warmth,  no  glow  of  passion:  all  is 
pure  and  perfect  in  its  purity  as  the  driven  snow,  and  as  cold, 
for  those  whom  no  earthly  passion  has  ever  sullied  live  in  a 
land  of  dazzling  silver  light  where  there  is  no  sun;  no  fire  has 
ever  warmed  them,  no  shadow  darkened  their  lives,  no  regrets 
from  their  own  lives  or  from  the  lives  of  others  have  saddened 
or  touched  them;  no  green  moss  of  hallowed  memories  hides 
their  sorrowful  or  sinful  past,  as  moss  and  ivy  cling  to  and  cover 
up  the  broken  stones  of  an  earthly  ruin,  veiling  its  ragged  fis- 
sures with  a  tender  touch,  and  hiding  its  marred  and  broken 
walls  and  its  disfigured  beauties.  No  flowers  but  the  snow 
white  flowers  of  purity  and  the  pale  blue  and  silver  blossoms 
of  truth  bloom  in  the  lands  of  the  snow  white  spheres:  all  is 
pale  and  colorless  like  the  lives  of  its  Angels  and  its  Saints.  Those 
who  live  here  cannot  enter  into  man's  joys  and  sorrows,  his  sins 


6  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

or  his  triumphs  over  sins,  his  hopes  and  ambitions,  his  disappoint- 
ments, his  anguish  and  despair,  for  they  have  felt  none  of  these 
things.  For  them  the  gates  of  Paradise  are  open  continually 
and  they  can  behold  the  fair  things  within,  but  they  cannot 
behold  at  all  the  dark  gates  of  Hell.  All  that  is  beautiful,  all 
that  is  pure  in  Art,  in  Music,  in  Literature,  in  Science,  yea,  in 
all  Life,  lies  open  before  their  eyes,  and  they  can  read  of  the 
beautiful  in  everything:  but  of  the  dark  books  of  sorrow  and 
suffering  and  sin  they  cannot  read  one  line,  and  their  sight  cannot 
behold  material  things  save  very  dimly,  for  material  life  has  been 
a  sealed  book  to  them. 

Thus  even  in  the  beauty  of  their  lives  there  is  a  want.  Per- 
fect as  they  would  seem,  their  lives  are  yet  incomplete,  since  one 
half  of  their  Souls  still  slumbers,  and  it  is  for  such  as  these  that 
reincarnation  has  been  thought  an  aid,  and  for  such  Souls  as 
these  the  process  of  assuming  the  earthly  body  which  has  been 
prepared  for  them  will  be  different  from  that  of  a  Soul  which 
has  not  yet  attained  a  conscious  life. 

There  are  others  who  are  sent  to  learn  Earth's  lessons  by  so 
tlosely  and  completely  identifying  themselves  with  some  Soul 
of  the  same  sex  already  incarnate  in  the  flesh,  and  which  is,  in 
all  its  tastes  and  aspirations,  in  closest  affinity  with  their  own, 
that  through  all  its  earthly  life  and  trials  they  may  share  the 
same  emotions  and  the  same  experiences.  To  make  the  ex- 
perience valuable  to  the  disincarnate  Soul  they  must  become 
in  all  essential  respects  as  one,  and  share  as  twins  the  material 
development  given  to  them  by  Mother  Earth.  Even  then  the 
disincarnate  Soul  will  but  imperfectly  learn  its  lesson,  and  the 
full  meaning  of  sorrow  and  suffering  and  trial.  It  will  feel  but 
the  reflected  emotion  of  its  twin  Soul,  never  its  fullest  and  deepest 
anguish,  its  warmth  of  passion,  its  depths  of  despair;  and  there- 
fore it  is  that  many  celestial  teachers  would  bid  the  Soul  return 
to  Earth  and  in  its  own  proper  person  live  the  life  of  Earth. 

The  sphere  of  darkness  is  dominated  by  a  deep  Red  Star, 
which  glows  like  the  heart  of  a  furnace,  surrounded  by  black 
and  blood  tinged  rays.  In  the  regions  dominated  by  this  Star 
all  appears  clouded  with  a  black  sulphurous  smoke,  and  all 
vegetation  is  withered  up  by  the  blasting  fires  of  unrestrained 
passion  and  unchecked  desires.  The  dry  ashes  of  burnt-out 
volcanic  lives  have  buried  the  blossoms  of  the  Soul  beneath 
their  scorching  dust,  and  the  withered  sticks  of  what  were  once 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  7 

the  trees  and  shrubs  of  good  intentions  and  good  desires  stand 
out  like  gaunt  sentinels  to  mark  where  the  purer  life  of  the  Soul 
once  flourished.  The  desolation  of  despair,  of  crushed  and 
blighted  hopes,  is  shed  around  on  everything.  The  dark  rivers 
of  bitter  tears  shed  by  tardy  and  unavailing  regret  alone  water 
that  sad  land,  and  their  scalding  streams  can  never  fertilize  it, 
but  only  add  to  its  dead  seas  another  rolling  wave  where  already 
there  are  too  many  flowing  over  the  sad  ruins  of  the  city  of  the  Soul. 

Yet  in  the  fierce  glowing  fires  within  the  heart  of  the  Star 
a  healing  balm  is  found  by  those  who  have  the  fortitude  and 
courage  to  seek  it;  a  purifying  bath,  in  which  the  pure  gold  of - 
the  Soul  is  refined  and  freed  from  the  alloy  of  gross  and  material 
passions.  And  from  this  purifying  crucible  the  Soul  shall  come 
forth  to  rise  to  the  spheres  of  that  glorious  third  Star  which 
gleams,  golden  rayed  and  crystal  clear,  above  both  the  other 
Stars,  even  as  the  Golden  Star  is  the  Crown  and  Diadem  of  the 
heavenly  spheres.  From  this  Star  dart  many  rays  tinged  with 
all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow,  which  sparkle  like  the  jewels  in 
a  victor's  crown.  The  crimson  rays  no  longer  typify  the  passions 
of  the  Soul,  but  its  tenderness  and  its  love.  The  blue  and  white 
no  longer  show  alone  its  purity,  but  its  truth  and  constancy.  The 
soft  green  denotes  its  sympathy,  the  violet  its  regal  power,  the 
Gold  its  spiritual  strength. 

The  dwellers  in  the  spheres  of  the  Golden  Star  have  all 
learned  the  lesson  of  Earth  life.  They  have  all  cultivated  the 
sympathies  as  well  as  the  purity  and  intellect  of  their  Souls, 
and  none  enter  its  gates  who  have  not  learned  in  their  own  lives 
to  suffer  and  be  strong  that  they  may  sympathize  with  and 
strengthen  others. 

In  the  complex  nature  of  man  and  the  conditions  of  his  Earth 
life  it  is  but  seldom  that  we  see  the  distinct  characteristics  of 
each  of  these  Stars  clearly  defined,  and  as  a  rule  men  partake 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  the  attributes  of  both  the  light  and 
dark  spheres.  Those  who  show  either  class  of  qualities  in  an 
abnormal  degree,  so  that  they  stand  forth  as  great  moral  teachers, 
or  as  cruel  and  degraded  tyrants,  are  decidedly  the  exceptions. 

And  yet  it  is  the  exceptional  lives  which  stand  forth  for  all 
time  from  the  lives  of  their  fellow  men,  like  pictures  painted 
upon  large  canvases  in  broad,  strong  touches,  whose  meaning 
can  be  read  even  by  the  most  ignorant,  while  the  delicate  minute 
finish  of  a  miniature,  requiring  a  close  inspection  and  a  knowl- 


8  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

edge  of  its  workmanship  to  reveal  its  beauties,  is  lost  upon  the 
world  at  large. 

The  minute  lives  of  ordinary  men  and  women  are  no  less 
useful  and  beneficial  than  those  of  exceptional  characters,  but 
they  do  not  serve  the  same  purpose  in  the  lessons  afforded  by 
them.  It  is  the  lives  of  those  who  are  great,  either  in  their  virtues 
or  in  their  vices,  which  mark  the  progress  which  the  world  has 
made,  and  serve  either  as  beacons  to  warn  others  of  the  shoals 
and  rocks  and  quicksands  upon  which  their  own  lives  were  wrecked, 
or  as  guiding  stars  to  light  the  Soul  upon  its  Heavenward  way. 

In  this  "Story  of  Ahrinziman"  will  be  found  the  record  of 
such  an  exceptional  life.  In  it  will  be  shown,  not  alone  the  evils 
wrought  by  himself,  but  those  for  which  others  were  responsible, 
the  threads  of  whose  lives  were  interwoven  with  his  own;  and 
also  the  blossoming  into  baleful  flowers  of  those  seeds  of  ambi- 
tion and  pride,  of  passion  and  intrigue,  of  revenge  and  murder, 
which  were  sown  ere  he  was  born,  and  which  bore  such  terrible 
fruits,  not  alone  for  him  himself  to  feed  upon,  but  for  all  those 
whose  hands  had  sown  the  seeds  and  whose  actions  had  nour- 
ished them. 

In  the  story  of  his  Earth  life  will  be  told  how  these  seeds  were 
sown,  and  in  his  experiences  in  the  Spirit  World  will  be  shown 
what  fruit  was  reaped  from  each  seed,  and  what  share  of  the 
harvest  each  Soul  whose  hands  had  sown  them  had  to  garner 
into  the  storehouse  of  his  memory  and  his  life. 


THE    STORY    OF    AHRINZIMAN 

PART  I 

PROLOGUE 

When  El  Jazid,  King  of  Persia,  returned  from  a  successful 
campaign  against  the  Greeks,  he  brought  with  him  a  captive 
maiden  of  the  most  surpassing  beauty  and  the  most  exquisite 
grace  and  charm,  a  captive  destined  to  reign  over  the  heart  of 
the  mighty  monarch  as  its  sole  queen,  and  to  cause  the  powerful 
king  to  bow  before  the  potent  sway  of  love  as  her  most  abject 
slave. 

And  yet  this  maiden  was  gentle  and  timid  as  a  wild  fawn, 
and  ignorant  of  all  artifice  as  a  little  child. 

In  the  devastating  march  of  the  Persian  conqueror  a  splendid 
Temple  of  the  Greeks  had  been  plundered,  its  priests  slain, 
and  its  vestals  carried  off  to  become  the  prey  of  their  conquerors. 

Among  the  captives  brought  before  El  Jazid  to  see  if  per- 
chance there  were  any  who  would  find  favor  in  his  eyes,  there 
were  none  so  beautiful  as  Cynthia,  the  daughter  of  Archelaus, 
a  maiden  of  barely  fifteen  years  of  age,  who  had  from  her  in- 
fancy been  dedicated  to  the  service  of  the  Gods.  Like  a  child 
she  had  lived  within  the  temple  walls,  ignorant  of  all  things 
beyond  them;  ignorant  alike  of  the  passions  which  stir  the 
hearts  of  men,  of  the  joys  unspeakable,  the  woes  unfathomable, 
that  spring  from  their  loves  and  their  hates,  their  ambitions 
and  their  pride;  ignorant  of  all  the  tender  joys  of  relationship, 
and  of  the  varied  hopes  and  fears  which  fill  the  hearts  of  those 
who  dwell  amidst  the  whirlpool  of  life,  and  learn  in  the  struggle 
for  existence  the  force  of  the  latent  powers  within  the  soul. 

Cynthia  was  terrified  like  a  child  at  being  brought  before 
the  monster  who  had  slain  or  taken  captive  all  those  among 
whom  her  brief  life  had  been  spent,  and  yet  she  was  without 
that  fear  of  death  which  inspired  the  terror  of  her  companions, 


io  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

for  she  had  lived  all  her  life  with  the  Dead,  she  had  held  com- 
munion with  them  as  with  near  and  dear  friends,  and  thus  the 
word  "Death"  had  no  meaning  of  fear  for  her.  But  she  felt 
bewildered  and  full  of  dread  of  this  unknown  and  powerful 
being  who  inspired  grief  and  fear  in  all  around  her. 

And  when  the  eyes  of  the  king  beheld  how  fair  she  was, 
and  when  he  felt  the  strange  thrill  of  love  and  admiration  which 
the  sight  of  her  beauty  inspired,  he  bade  all  others  to  depart 
that  he  might  speak  alone  with  this  beauteous  maid.  And  as 
Cynthia  raised  her  soft  dark  eyes  to  the  King's  face  to  read 
therein  her  fate,  she  felt  neither  fear  nor  terror,  but  only  a  sense 
of  wonder,  and  a  dim  consciousness  that  her  heart  was  stirred 
by  an  emotion  unknown  before. 

When  all  had  left  the  king's  presence  but  the  lovely  Greek, 
he  arose  from  his  throne  of  state,  and,  approaching  his  captive, 
took  her  hand  and  gazed  into  her  calm,  childlike  eyes;  and  as 
he  did  so  he  felt  abased  at  the  thought  of  the  fate  he  had  at  first 
destined  for  her,  and  ashamed  at  the  baseness  of  his  own  de- 
sires. Involuntarily  the  haughty  conqueror  knelt  at  the  feet 
of  this  young  maiden  and  kissed,  like  a  humble  slave,  the  hem 
of  her  robe  and  the  soft  white  fingers  of  her  fair  hand. 

At  the  touch  of  his  lips  the  soul  of  the  woman  awoke  in 
Cynthia,  and  the  days  of  her  childhood  were  forever  past.  She 
tasted  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  and  felt  for  the 
first  time  a  shadowy  sense  of  the  power  which  love  can  exercise 
over  the  hearts  of  women  and  of  men,  for  in  her  heart  there  was 
the  first  throb  of  that  awakening  love  which  was  to  make  for 
her  and  for  the  king  the  reality  and  the  tragedy  of  their  lives. 
The  days  of  her  dreaming  were  over.  From  henceforth  she 
was  to  live  the  real  life  of  Earth,  and  to  descend  from  those 
mystic  mountains  of  the  Soul  whereon  she  had  communed  only 
with  the  Past;  she  was  to  live  henceforth  on  the  lower  plane  of 
life,  the  true  existence  of  the  Present. 

And  for  El  Jazid  also,  a  new  era  had  begun:  he,  too,  was  to 
learn  how  all-powerful  can  be  the  sway  of  love  as  distinguished 
from  mere  passion;  how  even  ambition  and  the  love  of  con- 
quest could  sink  into  secondary  things  and  be  as  feather-weights 
in  the  balance.  He  who  had  treated  all  women  as  playthings 
with  which  to  amuse  the  idle  hours,  learned  to  hang  upon  every 
word,  every  look,  of  his  lovely  captive,  and  to  obey  her  every 
wish.  When  he  was  exiled  from  her  presence  he  was  restless 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  n 

and  unhappy  until  he  could  return  to  her  again.  He  assigned 
to  her  the  most  gorgeous  tent,  the  most  luxurious  litter  to  travel 
in,  slaves  and  attendants  innumerable,  who  were  bidden  to 
study  her  every  wish  as  though  she  had  been  the  Queen  herself. 
And  for  it  all  he  exacted  no  favors  save  such  as  she  willingly  gave. 

And  Cynthia  herself,  when  the  first  wonder  at  the  strange- 
ness had  passed,  gave  back  to  the  king  a  love  as  deep  and  tender 
as  his  own;  yea,  even  more  tender,  for  to  the  innocent  affection 
of  a  child  she  joined  the  infinite  tenderness  of  a  woman.  In 
her  pure  soul  ignorant  of  all  passions,  the  king's  love  awakened 
a  mingled  feeling  of  gratitude  and  love,  which  showed  itself,  in 
an  anxious  desire  to  please  him  in  all  things;  and,  with  the  un- 
erring instinct  of  affection,  she  learned  a  thousand  ways  in  which 
to  touch  his  heart,  so  that  ere  long,  had  she  but  chosen,  she  could 
have  become  the  most  powerful  person  at  his  court. 

El  Jazid's  first  idea  had  been  to  marry  Cynthia  and  raise 
her  to  the  position  of  his  second  queen,  but  reflection  caused 
him  to  abandon  that  idea  as  endangering,  it  might  be,  her -very 
existence.  For  the  king  had  a  queen  already:  a  beautiful, 
haughty  princess,  the  daughter  of  one  of  his  most  powerful 
neighbors  and  richest  ally,  and  a  woman  whom  he  knew  would 
brook  no  rival  in  his  affections  or  sharer  of  his  throne,  and  he 
felt  that  Cynthia's  life  would  be  a  brief  one  did  Queen  Artemisia 
know  of  his  infatuation  for  her.  Had  Cynthia  herself  desired 
to  become  the  acknowledged  wife  of  the  king,  her  influence  over 
him  was  so  great  that  there  is  little  doubt  he  would  have  braved 
even  the  anger  of  his  proud  queen  and  the  enemity  of  her  haughty 
family  to  make  her  so,  but  she  was  innocent  and  ignorant  as  a 
child  of  the  world's  standards  of  rank  and  honor:  ambition  and 
power  had  no  meaning  for  her,  and  she  had  no  sense  of  the  in- 
ferior position  she  held  as  simply  an  acknowledged  favorite  of 
the  king. 

Within  the  temple  walls  Cynthia  had  seen  none  save  those 
few  attendants  who  waited  upon  her  and  the  aged  priests  under 
whose  instructions  she  had  grown  up.  She  regarded  the  king 
as  a  wise  and  powerful  being,  whose  ability  to  make  all  around 
him  bow  to  his  will  gave  him  a  position  akin  to  that  which  she 
had  associated  with  the  idea  of  a  God.  Her  ignorance  of  the 
true  relations  of  men  on  Earth  towards  each  other  was  as  great 
as  was  her  power  of  seeing  and  describing  the  beauties  of  the 
far-off  spirit  spheres,  and  she  never  thought  of  resisting  or  ques- 


12  THE  STORY  OF  AHR1NZIMAN 

tioning  any  wish  of  the  man  whose  devotion  had  won  her  heart 
and  whose  power  had  subjugated  her  mind.  Of  herself  she 
never  thought,  because  all  self  had  been  so  steadily  repressed 
and  so  thoroughly  neutralized  that  she  had  become  but  the  pliant 
echo  of  the  thoughts  of  others  that  were  transmitted  through 
her.  Her  own  individuality  had  been  so  early  and  so  long  re- 
pressed that  she  had  lost  the  power  of  thinking,  either  for  or  of 
herself.  Placed  in  the  temple  in  her  infancy,  she  had  remained 
almost  an  infant  in  heart  and  mind. 

To  El  Jazid,  accustomed  to  the  intrigues  and  self-seeking 
ambitions  which  tainted  the  atmosphere  of  a  court,  the  strange, 
dreamy  innocence  of  the  young  Greek  came  as  a  rest  and  a 
relief.  Her  arms  were  a  refuge  to  which  he  could  escape  when 
the  cares  of  state  and  the  incessant  intriguing  among  those  who 
sought  to  raise  themselves  in  his  favor  became  a  burden  and  a 
weariness.  From  Cynthia  he  heard  of  none  of  these  things, 
but  she  would  tell  him  wondrous  stories  of  her  Dream- World, 
and  the  beautiful  visions  she  had  seen,  the  bright  and  glorious 
beings  with  whom  she  had  held  converse,  and  would  paint  with 
playful  childish  pleasure  the  future  she  imagined  for  them  both 
when  the  ties  of  Earth  should  no  longer  chain  their  souls. 

In  yielding  to  the  king's  love  she  had  in  a  measure  descended 
to  his  level  and  taken  upon  her  the  conditions  of  his  life,  so  that 
she  no  longer  beheld  the  glories  of  the  higher  spheres.  Their 
gates  were  closed  to  her,  but  she  still  possessed  the  power  of  fore- 
seeing things  which  lay  near  the  Earth,  and  although  her  ab- 
sorption in  the  happiness  which  filled  her  life  made  her  in  a 
measure  blind  even  to  these  things,  she  was  yet  able  to  relate 
to  the  king  much  concerning  himself,  and  to  warn  him  of  more 
than  one  threatened  disaster. 

Thus  between  a  dream  life  and  a  life  of  active  reality  did 
the  king  and  Cynthia  spend  the  first  few  months  of  their  strange 
union.  El  Jazid  lingered  afar  from  his  kingdom,  although  the 
necessities  of  conquest  no  longer  constrained  him  to  do  so,  and 
was  loath  to  return  to  his  palace  at  Agbatana  and  to  the  queen, 
whose  jealous  eyes  he  feared  might  discover  his  secret  attachment. 

He  was,  however,  soon  aroused  from  his  dreaming.  A  mes- 
senger arrived  one  day,  travel  stained  and  exhausted  with  his 
riding,  bearing  to  the  king  the  announcement  that  the  Queen 
had  borne  him  a  son,  an  heir  to  the  throne,  and  that  she  bade 
him  leave  all  else  and  hasten  to  her  side. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  13 

With  mingled  feelings  of  joy  and  apprehension  the  king 
read  the  letter.  This  event,  which  had  been  hoped  for  in  vain 
for  several  years,  and  which  would  once  have  filled  him  with 
the  greatest  joy  and  pride,  quickening  anew  all  his  love  for  the 
mother  of  his  child,  was  no  longer  the  greatest  desire  of  his  am- 
bition, and  awakened  no  feelings  towards  the  Queen  but  one  of 
regret  that  her  son  must  ever  come  in  succession  before  any 
which  his  beloved  Cynthia,  the  true  queen  of  his  heart,  might 
bear  him.  The  letter  also,  couched  in  terms  of  the  fondest 
affection,  read  like  a  reproach  from  one  whose  love  he  had  well 
nigh  forgotten.  Return  to  the  Queen  he  must,  but  ere  doing 
so  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  provide  for  the  safety  of  Cynthia, 
and  for  her  rejoining  him  as  soon  as  possible. 

In  this  emergency  he  bethought  him  of  his  chief  commander, 
Ben  al  Zulid,  a  man  of  noble  and  intrepid  character,  upon  whose 
fidelity  he  knew  he  could  rely  even  in  so  difficult  and  delicate  a 
matter.  After  a  short  conference  between  them  it  was  agreed 
that  the  safest  thing  was  for  the  king  to  appear  to  bestow  the 
beautiful  Cynthia  upon  his  favorite  general,  together  with  a 
small  palace  which  closely  adjoined  the  king's  own  apartments 
in  his  palace  at  Parsagherd,  and  which  might  almost  have  been 
considered  to  form  part  of  its  outer  buildings.  Between  the 
king's  apartments  and  this  small  palace  it  was  resolved  to  con- 
struct a  secret  passage  underground,  with  two  hidden  doors, 
one  at  either  end,  and  the  method  of  opening  which  was  to  be 
known  to  the  king  alone.  Al  Zulid  was  commissioned  to  bring 
a  cunning  artificer  from  Hindustan,  at  that  time  much  celebrated 
for  such  kinds  of  workmanship,  to  construct  the  passage  and 
the  spring  by  which  the  doors  should  be  made  to  open  and  close. 
Meanwhile,  Cynthia  was  to  be  taken  care  of  by  Al  Zulid,  and 
treated  by  him  with  as  much  respect  as  though  she  was  in  reality 
the  queen:  neither  he  nor  any  of  his  household  were  to  see  her, 
the  attendants  given  to  her  by  the  king,  upon  whose  fidelity  he 
could  rely,  being  alone  allowed  to  wait  upon  her. 

In  return  for  these  services  the  King  bestowed  upon  Al  Zulid 
much  treasure,  and  raised  him  to  a  still  higher  position  of  honor 
than  he  already  occupied. 

This  agreement  Ben  Al  Zulid  kept  with  the  most  scrupulous 
exactness,  and  a  delicate  regard,  not  alone  for  the  position  and 
welfare  of  the  beautiful  Cynthia  herself,  but  also  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  King. 


14  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

Having  thus  confided  the  care  of  his  Beloved  to  his  friend 
the  King  made  all  haste  to  return  to  the  Palace  at  Agbatana, 
where  his  impatient  and  proud  Queen  awaited  him. 

Had  beauty  been  sufficient  to  win  and  hold  the  King's  heart, 
then  surely  had  he  remained  captive  to  the  charms  of  the  fair 
Artemisia,  for  she  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  women.  Na- 
ture had  lavished  upon  her  intellect  and  beauty,  its  fairest  gifts. 
Of  commanding  stature  yet  slender  form,  her  supple,  perfectly 
rounded  limbs  might  have  formed  the  model  for  a  sculptor,  while 
the  finely  cut  features,  the  lustrous  dark  eyes,  the  perfectly  arched 
eyebrows,  the  clear  pallor  of  the  skin,  the  full  exquisitely  moulded 
red  lips,  were  rendered  yet  more  beautiful,  and  more  alluring 
to  the  eyes  of  most  men  by  the  air  of  haughty  pride  and  queenly 
dignity  which  pervaded  their  expression.  The  sensuous  droop 
of  the  full  lidded  eyes,  the  gleam  of  anger  which  at  slight  pro- 
vocation shot  from  them,  the  full  strong  chin  and  jaw,  with  the 
quick  tightening  of  the  shapely  mouth  when  roused  to  anger, 
would  all  have  been  signs  of  temper  unheeded  by  most  men,  or 
else  would  only  have  served  as  incentives  to  them,  to  try  whether 
they  could  not  conquer  the  heart  of  this  proud  beauty,  and  make 
those  haughty  lips  whisper  fond  words  for  their  ears  alone,  and 
those  dark  eyes  brighten  at  their  approach.  Thus  had  it  once 
been  with  El  Jazid.  Artemisia  had  roused  his  passions  and 
charmed  his  senses  and  allured  his  lower  Soul,  but  her  beauty 
had  been  powerless  to  awaken  the  love  of  his  higher  self,  the 
purer  and  truer  love  she  had  been  unable  to  win;  Cynthia,  and 
Cynthia  alone,  could  do  that,  and  at  her  touch  the  lower,  coarser 
love  of  the  King  for  Artemisia  had  melted  like  a  castle  of  cloud 
and  mist  before  the  glowing  beams  of  the  noon-day  sun.  Thus 
when  El  Jazid  reached  Agbatana,  and  beheld  again  the  wondrous 
sensual  beauty  of  his  haughty  Queen,  the  mother  now  of  his 
child,  it  awoke  but  a  faint  echo  of  the  old  passion,  a  feeble  return 
of  the  old  warmth.  And  though  his  words  were  as  tender,  and 
full  of  affection  as  of  old,  his  phrases  as  complimentary,  his 
attentions  as  carefully  studied,  the  heart  of  the  proud,  passionate 
woman,  hungering  for  love  and  thirsting  for  devotion,  detected 
at  once,  the  hollowness  of  his  set  phrases,  the  emptiness  of  his 
honeyed  words,  his  formal  caresses,  the  artificiality  of  his  endear- 
ments, and  in  vehement  anger  and  disappointment  refused  to 
be  satisfied  with  the  pretence  of  a  love  which  her  woman's  in- 
stinct told  her  she  had  somehow  lost. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  15 

To  El  Jazid,  she  said  nothing  to  show  that  she  perceived 
any  difference  in  his  manner,  but  she  sought  to  win  back  from 
the  returned  husband,  the  devotion  of  the  lover  who  had  left 
her  less  than  a  year  before.  She  used  every  art  of  which  she  was 
mistress,  and  used  them  in  vain,  and  she  felt  it  was  no  longer 
possible  for  her  to  keep  his  love,  since  between  their  hearts  some 
barrier  had  risen  which  no  attentions  on  the  King's  part  could 
hide. 

And  still,  while  he  remained  with  her  she  made  no  sign,  dis- 
sembling with  oriental  caution  the  anger  that  she  felt;  but  when, 
after  a  brief  stay,  and  with  a  slender,  ill-acted  show  of  regret, 
for  El  Jazid  was  but  a  poor  dissembler,  he  had  left  her  again, 
declaring  that  he  must  return  to  his  army,  the  anger  of  the  slighted 
woman  broke  forth  in  a  violent  storm  of  rage,  and  she  felt  a 
fierce  thirst  for  vengeance  upon  the  woman  who  had  stolen  from 
her  the  King's  heart,  and  usurped  that  first  place  in  his  thoughts 
which  belonged  by  right  to  his  Queen  alone. 

She  felt  certain  that  there  was  some  woman;  nothing  else 
could  have  so  changed  the  King's  manner  to  her,  and  she  was 
seized  with  a  wild  determination  to  learn  who  this  unknown 
beauty  could  be,  and  to  behold  one  whose  charms  had  proved 
more  potent  than  her  own,  strong  enough  to  draw  El  Jazid  from 
the  side  of  the  Princess,  who  had  distinguished  him  above  her 
many  suitors  and  conferred  upon  him  the  honor  of  becoming 
the  husband  of  the  proud  Artemisia.  Wounded  love  struggled 
in  her  heart  with  wounded  pride,  and  from  the  conflict  was  born 
a  hatred  as  deep  and  all-absorbing  as  the  love  had  been. 

When  the  first  burst  of  passion  was  over  Artemisia,  with  the 
craft  of  her  oriental  nature,  resolved  to  conceal  her  suspicions 
from  El  Jazid,  and  to  act  towards  him  as  before,  in  order  that 
she  might  better  accomplish  her  revenge  upon  him  and  his  new 
favorite.  She  set  spies  to  follow  the  King,  and  report  to  her  his 
every  movement,  and  it  was  not  long  ere  she  learned  of  the  exist- 
ence of  Cynthia,  and  of  the  devotion  El  Jazid  had  shown  to  her, 
although  so  quietly  had  she  been  taken  away  by  Al  Zulid,  and 
so  effectually  had  he  hidden  her,  that  no  trace  of  her  whereabouts 
could  be  found.  None  knew  what  had  become  of  her,  nor  by 
whom  she  had  been  taken  away.  The  King's  own  visits  to 
Cynthia  being  now  made  with  the  utmost  secrecy  and  caution, 
the  spies  of  Queen  Artemisia  were  for  a  time  completely  baffled. 

Meanwhile,  the  making  of  the  secret  passage  between  the 


16  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

two  Palaces  at  Parsagherd  was  being  rapidly  hurried  forward. 
The  Hindoo  artificer,  whom  the  King's  large  bribe  had  tempted 
from  his  own  country,  was  assisted  in  his  work  by  a  clever,  black 
slave  only.  The  care  taken  in  making  the  passage  was  so  great 
that  all  the  workmen  were  brought  from  a  great  distance  and 
carefully  prevented  from  holding  any  communication  with  per- 
sons employed  in  the  Palace  itself.  When  the  work  was  at 
length  completed,  these  foreign  workmen  and  the  Hindoo  artisan 
were  carefully  escorted  back  to  their  own  country,  the  poor  black 
slave,  alone,  being  left  behind.  This  unfortunate  man,  belonging 
to  the  city  of  Agbatana,  and  being  employed  about  the  Palace, 
it  occurred  to  the  King  that  the  safest  thing  to  do  was  to  put  him 
to  death,  lest  at  any  time  he  should  be  tempted  to  betray  the  secret 
of  the  passage,  and  orders  vere  therefore  sent  for  his  execution,  the 
life  of  one  poor  slave  being  but  a  feather's  weight  in  the  balance 
compared  to  the  preservation  of  an  Emperor's  secret. 

When  all  was  at  last  completed,  Al  Zulid  installed  himself 
and  his  household  in  the  house  assigned  to  him,  and  then  brought 
Cynthia  safely  to  the  part  of  it  which  had  been  prepared  for  her, 
and  which  was  surrounded  by  high  walls,  and  everything  which 
it  was  thought  could  serve  for  her  protection.  Shortly  after  this, 
the  court  was  moved  to  Parsagherd,  and  the  King  was  once  more 
able  to  visit  his  beloved  freely,  and,  as  he  believed,  unsuspected. 

To  the  Queen,  he  maintained  always  the  same  scrupulously 
careful  show  of  devotion,  and  so  well  did  Artemisia  act  her  part, 
so  carefully  did  she  dissemble  her  wrath,  that  El  Jazid  imagined  his 
secret  was  in  no  immediate  danger  of  discovery,  and  gave  him- 
self up  to  the  unrestrained  enjoyment  of  Cynthia's  society,  scarce 
observing  as  he  otherwise  might  have  done,  the  smouldering  fire 
which  gleamed  in  the  eyes  of  Artemisia,  when  he  pleaded  the 
cares  of  state  as  a  reason  why  he  could  not  devote  more  of  his 
time  to  her. 

Yet  not  so  easily  was  the  death  of  even  a  poor  slave  to  pass  over 
unavenged.  It  was  but  a  seed,  and  a  small  one,  in  that  harvest 
field  of  sorrow  which  was  to  surround  poor  Cynthia.  Yet  that 
seed  became  a  Upas  tree  whose  branches  were  to  blight  at  their 
source  the  well-spring  of  hope  and  love  and  maternal  tenderness 
which  had  sprung  up  amidst  the  cramped  and  blighted  affections 
of  a  heart  which  had  been  denied  all  the  natural  ties  of  earthly 
kindred,  all  interests  which  might  have  abstracted  her  thoughts 
from  the  contemplation  of  Heavenly  things.  The  tender  joys,  the 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  17 

soft  sweet  holy  thoughts  of  expectant  motherhood,  were  awaken- 
ing in  Cynthia's  Soul,  and  with  a  trembling,  half  fear  half  hope, 
she  looked  forward  to  the  unfolding  of  a  tiny  life  within  her  own, 
the  blossoming  into  life  of  a  little  emblem  of  their  love;  hopes 
which  gave  a  new  soft  light  to  her  eyes  and  imparted  a  new  mean- 
ing to  her  love  for  El  Jazid. 

One  evening  as  the  sun  was  setting  and  the  twilight  shadows 
were  gathering  over  the  valley  that  lay  below,  Cynthia  and  El 
Jazid  were  seated  together  upon  a  low  divan;  and  her  head  rested 
upon  his  shoulder  in  the  sweet  abandonment  of  happy  love;  her 
long  dark  hair  hung  loose  upon  her  shoulders  and  as  the  King 
caressed  it  with  loving  touch  he  spoke  u  her  of  those  new  hopes 
which  filled  with  happiness  both  their  Souls. 

Suddenly  Cynthia  whose  dreamy  eyes  had  been  gazing  into 
El  Jazid's  turned  her  head  towards  the  hangings  in  the  corner  of 
the  room  where  was  the  secret  door,  and  with  a  fixed  stony  look  of 
fear,  such  as  one  sees  in  a  bird  which  is  fascinated  by  a  snake,  she 
seemed  to  be  following  the  passage  of  something  or  someone  along 
the  wall.  Then  clutching  the  King's  arm,  with  a  low  cry  and  an 
almost  frenzied  expression  of  terror,  she  exclaimed,  "Oh  look! 
look!  It  is  that  black  shadow  of  a  man  again!  He  is  creeping, 
creeping,  towards  us,  with  the  most  awful  look  of  hatred  in  his  eyes! 
He  fixes  them  upon  me,  and  I  feel  as  though  I  could  not  move, 
could  not  escape  from  him!  Oh!  save  me  from  him!  Save  me 
from  him! "  and  with  a  cry  she  fell  insensible  into  El  Jazid's  arms. 

In  vain  did  the  King,  thoroughly  alarmed  lest  it  should  be 
some  spy  who  had  found  the  secret  of  the  passage,  search  the  hang- 
ings, the  walls,  everything.  He  could  see  nothing  to  account  for 
her  alarm,  no  means  by  which  anyone  could  have  entered,  and 
though  he  had  followed  the  direction  of  Cynthia's  eyes  and  seen 
where  she  had  pointed  he  could  see  nothing  to  explain  the  fright. 
The  secret  spring  was  intact,  the  door  fast  closed,  yet  Cynthia 
had  seemed  to  see  the  figure  come  from  there.  Where  it  had  gone 
was  a  mystery,  yet  El  Jazid  had  too  great  a  belief  in  her  powers 
of  beholding  unseen  things  to  doubt  that  she  had  truly  seen  some- 
thing, and  its  invisibility  to  his  own  eyes  greatly  added  to  his 
superstitious  apprehensions. 

To  revive  and  to  soothe  Cynthia  was  his  first  care.  He  dare 
not  call  any  of  her  attendants  as  he  did  not  wish  his  presence 
there  suspected,  and  it  was  some  time  before  she  was  sufficiently 
restored  to  calmness  to  allow  him  to  leave  her.  When  he  did  so 


i8  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

it  was  nearly  dark,  and  in  order  to  see  his  way  through  the  pas- 
sage he  lighted  a  small  lamp. 

He  had  almost  reached  the  door  leading  into  his  own  apart- 
ments when  by  the  feeble  light  of  his  lamp  he  saw  a  black  shadow 
in  front  of  him,  resembling  the  crouching  figure  of  a  man.  To 
draw  his  dagger  and  to  stab  at  it  was  the  work  of  a  moment,  for 
only  some  meditated  treachery  could  cause  anyone  to  have  followed 
him  into  this  passage.  To  his  surprise  the  weapon,  and  also  his 
hand  and  arm,  went  through  the  figure,  and  at  the  same  moment 
his  lamp  seemed  to  be  extinguished  by  a  blast  of  cold  air;  as  it  went 
out  he  saw  the  figure  roll  over  and  then  rise  and,  as  it  seemed, 
envelope  him  like  a  cloak,  and  it  required  all  his  efforts  of  strong 
will  and  undaunted  courage  to  free  himself  from  the  nameless, 
shapeless  thing  which  he  now  knew  to  be  nothing  earthly,  and  as  he 
thrust  it  from  him  with  all  his  force  it  seemed  to  vanish  with  a 
wild  unearthly  cry  of  rage. 

Convinced  that  the  being  he  had  encountered  was  some  evil 
genie,  El  Jazid  consulted  the  court  astrologers  and  wise  men,  and 
also  the  Priests  at  to  what  could  be  done  to  protect  himself  and, 
what  was  still  more  important,  his  beloved  Cynthia  from  the  ap- 
proaches of  this  horrible  thing. 

The  advice  he  got  was  to  the  effect  that  this  being  evidently  a 
Spirit  of  darkness,  one  of  the  devils  of  Ahriman,  it  would  be 
desirable  that  El  Jazid  should  at  once  set  forth  upon  a  pilgrimage 
to  the  Temple  of  Baku,  and  bring  back  from  there  a  vessel  lighted 
by  the  sacred  fire  which  arises  from  the  earth  'and  burns  there 
continually.  This  would  combat  the  evil  power  of  Ahriman,  and 
draw  down  to  his  aid  the  good  Angels  of  ORMUZD,  and  thus 
would  the  sacred  fire  possess  a  double  efficacy  for  keeping  at  bay 
all  the  ghouls  and  genii  of  the  dark  kingdom. 

From  Cynthia  the  King  parted  with  the  utmost  reluctance. 
Only  the  assurance  of  the  Priests  that  it  was  needful  that  he  him- 
self should  go,  and  in  his  own  person  pay  homage  at  the  sacred 
altar,  would  have  induced  him  to  leave  her  at  such  a  time  and 
under  such  circumstances.  To  Ben  Al  Zulid  he  confided  her,  with 
the  oft  repeated  warnings  to  guard  the  secret  door  and  above  every- 
thing to  keep  a  special  lamp  containing  the  sacred  fire  ever  burn- 
ing in  the  room,  and  station  fresh  guards  round  her  apartments. 

Cynthia  herself  was  most  unwilling  to  allow  the  King  to  leave 
her.  She  was  filled  with  the  most  anxious  fears,  the  most  terrible 
apprehensions,  and  dreaded  to  lose  sight  of  him  even  for  a  few 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  19 

hours.     Still  her  belief  in  the  advice  of  the  Priests  at  last  overcame 
her  fears,  and  with  much  emotion  Cynthia  and  the  King  parted. 

For  some  days  nothing  occurred  to  justify  Cynthia's  fears,  and 
Al  Zulid  watched  over  her  safety  with  a  care  and  devotion  only 
second  to  that  of  the  King  himself,  so  that  she  grew  gradually 
ashamed  of  her  fears  and  more  confident,  and  began  to  amuse  her- 
self picturing  El  Jazid's  return. 

Thus  the  time  passed,  and  it  was  calculated  that  the  King  must 
already  be  well  advanced  upon  his  homeward  way,  when  one 
evening  as  Cynthia  lay  upon  her  cushions,  Wearied  out  with  anxious 
watching  for  him,  she  fell  asleep. 

She  had  slept  but  a  short  time,  and  was  alcne  for  a  few  moment 
the  attendant  having  but  just  left  the  room,  when  the  hangings 
before  the  secret  door  wer?  drawn  aside  by  a  hand,  a  real  living 
hand,  a  woman's  firm  while  shapely  hand  bejewelled  with  many 
rings,  and  the  Queen  herself  stopped  into  the  room.  Drawing 
near  to  the  couch  of  the  sleeping  girl  she  stood  looking  upon  the 
rival  who  had  stolen  from  her  the  King's  love.  Cruel  hatred 
gleamed  in  her  eyes,  and  her  white  hands  were  clenched  in  a  fierce 
desire  to  clutch  the  fair  white  throat  of  the  beautiful  girl  and 
strangle  her.  Yes!  this  girl  was  beautiful.  Perfect  in  all  re- 
spects as  was  she  herself,  and  with  a  subtle  charm  in  her  beauty 
which  the  powerful  Queen  could  never  hope  to  rival.  Instinctive- 
ly she  felt  the  source  of  Cynthia's  power  over  El  Jazid,  and  she 
ground  her  teeth  in  silent  rage  as  she  drew  a  step  nearer  to  the 
couch,  at  the  same  time  making  a  sign  with  her  hand  to  a  slave 
who  was  behind  her. 

Perhaps  it  was  the  proximity  of  her  foe  that  awakened  her,  or 
it  might  be  that  her  Guardian  Angel  sought  to  save  her  even  then; 
be  it  as  it  may,  Cynthia  woke  with  a  scream  of  terror  and  sprang 
from  the  cushions,  uttering  sharp  cries  for  help  as  the  slave  sprung 
upon  her  and  plunged  his  cruel  dagger  into  her  shoulder  and  white 
throat  ere  the  affrighted  attendant  could  rush  to  her  aid;  the 
slave  himself  being  almost  cut  to  pieces  by  those  who  hurried 
into  the  room.  The  Queen,  leaving  her  minion  to  his  fate,  had 
retired  into  the  secret  passage  and  closed  the  door,  and  there  was 
therefore  nothing  to  show  how  or  by  what  means  the  murderer  had 
entered. 

In  truth  Artemisia  had  been  for  many  days  and  weeks  trying 
to  discover  by  what  secret  means  the  King  visited  her  rival,  for  that 
she  was  somewhere  near  and  that  he  saw  her  dailv  Artemisia  was 


20  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

convinced.  She  learned  that  Al  Zulid  possessed  a  very  beautiful 
and  mysterious  inmate  of  his  seraglio,  and  guessed  that  his  house 
might  well  be  chosen  as  the  asylum  for  El  Jazid's  favorite.  With 
a  woman's  capacity  for  receiving  and  profiting  by  impressions  and 
ill-defined  and  apparently  groundless  suspicions,  she  had  become 
convinced  that  there  must  be  some  secret  passage  somewhere, 
and  aided  by  the  vengeful  Spirit  of  the  murdered  slave  she  had 
spent  the  time  of  El  Jazid's  absence  in  searching  for  it,  and,  still 
guided  by  the  Spirit  of  the  man  whose  knowledge  of  its  secret  had 
cost  his  him  life,  had  at  last,  that  very  day,  found  it. 

'It  was  this  Spirit  whom  Cynthia  had  seen,  and  whom  El  Jazid 
had  encountered  hovering  around  the  cause  of  his  untimely  end, 
and  who  had  led  the  Queen  to  seek  her  rival's  room  at  a  moment 
when  she  was  alone  and  unprotected. 

Thus  did  the  first  seeds  bear  their  fruits,  and  send  forth  shoots  to 
poison  yet  other  lives. 

***** 

Cynthia  was  not  dead,  although  fatally  wounded,  and  Al  Zulid 
sent  in  all  haste  to  hurry  the  King,  hoping  that  haply  he  might 
still  be  in  time  to  receive  her  last  breath. 

She  lay  almost  unconscious,  but  it  seemed  as  though  she  could 
not  die  till  her  beloved  came. 

As  day  dawned  the  attendants  saw  the  end  was  drawing  near. 
The  grey  shadows  of  death  were  gathering  fast  upon  her  fair  face; 
her  eyes  were  glazing,  and  all  seemed  almost  over,  when  the  King, 
covered  with  the  foam  from  his  horse  and  the  mire  from  the  roads, 
haggard  and  distracted  with  grief,  arrived  at  last.  At  his  touch 
Cynthia's  eyes  opened  once  again;  her  white  lips  tried  to  utter  his 
name,  and  her  dying  hand  to  clasp  his,  but  even  as  they  did  so  the 
silver  cord  was  loosed,  and  the  Soul  of  the  gentle,  murdered 

Cynthia  sank  to  rest. 

***** 

And  in  the  hour  my  mother  died,  I,  Ahrinziman,  was  born. 
The  moment  of  her  death  was  also  the  moment  of  my  entrance 
into  life. 

Not  amidst  joyous  congratulations  and  happy  hopes  fulfilled 
was  I  ushered  into  life,  but  amidst  bitter  tears  and  wailings  of  grief; 
amidst  anger,  revenge,  and  strife.  War  and  murder  and  jealousy 
had  shadowed  me  before  before  my  birth,  and  the  Star  of  my  des- 
tiny arose  upon  the  horizon  of  Earth  tinged  with  the  blood  red  rays 
of  the  Fiery  Star. 


THE    STORY    OF    AHRINZIMAN 

PART    I 

SOWING  THE  SEED 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  DAYS  OF  BOYHOOD 

My  earliest  recollections  are  of  a  lonely  herdsman's  hut  among 
the  Caucasian  mountains,  where,  under  the  care  of  my  foster 
parent  and  amidst  the  peaceful  obscurity  of  my  humble  surround- 
ings, my  childhood's  days  were  passed. 

None  knew  who  my  father  was,  nor  whence  I  came.  I  had 
been  brought  to  the  valley  as  an  infant  of  scarcely  a  month  old 
by  a  Persian,  whom  the  shepherd  and  his  wife  had  nursed 
when  badly  wounded  two  years  before,  and  who  had  passed 
through  their  valley  with  a  few  of  his  soldier  companions.  Little 
was  known  even  of  this  man,  but  from  his  dress  and  costly  armour 
it  was  judged  that  he  must  belong  to  the  higher  ranks  of  the  King's 
army.  He  had  brought  me  himself,  unaccompanied  by  any 
one,  and  had  left  a  large  bag  of  money  to  pay  for  the  cost  of 
my  maintenance,  saying  that  so  long  as  I  was  well  cared  for  and 
kindly  treated  my  foster  parents  should  never  want  for  flocks  and 
herds  of  their  own  to  tend,  nor  gold  with  which  to  dower  their 
children,  but  that  no  attempt  must  be  made  to  learn  whose  son  I 
was,  nor  why  I  was  thus  given  into  the  care  of  strangers. 

Twice  after  that  this  man  came  to  enquire  after  me,  and  to 
see  that  I  was  thriving  well  in  that  wild  mountain  valley,  and  then 
for  several  years  he  came  no  more.  However,  as  far  more  than 
sufficient  money  had  been  left  with  me  to  provide  for  all  my  wants, 
no  great  surprise  was  felt  at  this.  Indeed  the  gold  given  had  been 
so  considerable  a  sum  that  from  a  humble  tender  of  other  men's 
flocks  my  foster  father  was  able  to  purchase  a  fine  flock  of  his  own. 

21 


22  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

and  to  remove  from  the  tent  where  he  had  dwelt  to  the  little  stone 
building  which  I  remember,  and  which,  though  it  seems  but  a  poor 
humble  place  to  my  thoughts  now,  was  yet  the  summit  of  his  ambi- 
tion. Thus  he  and  his  wife  had  every  reason  to  tend  me  well. 

They  had  a  numerous  progeny  of  their  own,  some  older  and 
some  younger  than  myself,  but  by  them,  even  in  our  childish  games, 
I  was  always  treated  with  a  certain  degree  of  deference,  as  being  of 
a  superior  rank  to  themselves.  And  thus  I  learnt  early  to  rule, 
even  in  my  small  world,  and  to  exact  from  others  a  submission  to 
•my  wishes  which  did  much  to  develope  in  me  that  love  of  command 
which  I  had  inherited  from  my  royal  ancestors. 

Apart  from  these  considerations,  I  had  certain  peculiarities  of 
taste  and  temper  which  served  to  widen  the  barrier  between  myself 
and  those  whose  care  supplied  to  me  that  love  of  kindred  that  I 
have  never  known. 

I  was  a  strange  wayward  boy,  subject  to  violent  bursts  of  pas- 
sion, and  full  of  vague  longings  for  I  knew  not  what;  striving  al- 
ways for  some  state  of  happiness  that  was  for  me  unattainable; 
thirsting  ever  for  more  knowledge,  and  fretting  against  the  narrow 
limits  of  my  little  world. 

When  I  grew  wearied  of  the  rough  games  of  my  companions, 
and  tired  of  watching  the  habits  of  the  many  animals  my  foster 
parents  reared,  I  would  wander  away  by  myself  into  the  mountain 
passes  of  that  half  cultivated  land,  and  throwing  myself  down 
upon  some  grassy  mountain  top  would  watch  the  clouds  and 
sky  and  glorious  sun,  until  the  lonely  and  desolate  region  around 
would  appear  to  grow  instinct  with  life,  and  myriad  forms  of 
every  kind  of  aerial  beings  would  people  the  solitude,  moving 
around  me  and  floating  between  me  and  the  rising  or  setting  sun, 
for  it  was  at  early  dawn  or  sunset  that  I  beheld  these  shapes  most 
often  and  most  clearly. 

Again  at  noonday,  as  I  watched  the  clouds  sail  over  the  sky, 
their  shapes  would  change  for  me  into  castles  and  palaces  and 
wondrous  oceans  with  white  winged  ships  and  huge  galleys  sailing 
across;  into  huntsmen  and  horses,  into  warriors  engaged  in  battle, 
into  horses  and  hounds  and  swift  antelopes.  Whole  panoramas 
would  unroll  themselves  before  my  eyes,  until  it  was  no  longer 
cloud  shapes  I  was  watching  but  the  wonders  of  a  celestial  world. 

Then  when  darkness  fell,  and  I  lay  in  my  little  room,  I  would 
behold  a  glorious  Star,  like  unto  one  of  the  Stars  of  Heaven,  that 
would  seem  to  approach  nearer  and  nearer  to  me,  and  expand  and 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  23 

expand,  till  my  whole  room  was  bathed  in  its  silver  light,  and  I 
myself  enveloped  in  its  dazzling  brightness.  In  the  heart  of  the 
Star  I  would  see  the  most  radiant  Angels,  their  white  and  glistening 
robes  shining  as  though  powdered  with  silver  dust,  and  in  their 
hands  they  would  bear  wreaths  of  silver  palm,  with  blue  and  white 
flowers.  Troops  of  bright  Peris  or  spirit  children  would  assemble 
and  dance  around  me  in  the  light  of  the  Star.  Lovely  maidens 
with  long  floating  tresses  of  hair  and  snow-white  arms  would  glide 
in  and  out  before  me  in  all  the  mazes  of  the  most  graceful  dances 
I  have  ever  beheld.  Soft  strains  of  music  would  float  to  me,  borne 
by  some  passing  Zephyr  from  the  Spirit  Land,  and  lovely  glimpses 
of  scenery  like  unto  the  white  and  glistening  regions  of  some  fairy 
land  of  the  Blessed  would  appear  to  my  eyes  for  a  few  moments, 
and  then  fade  away  to  give  place  to  another  scene  of  delight.  Then 
on  a  sudden  my  Star  would  grow  pale  and  dim,  and  vanish,  leav- 
ing me  alone  in  the  darkness  once  more. 

When  I  was  between  ten  and  twelve  years  old  my  visions  took 
a  new  shape;  intsead  of  seeing  such  troops  of  Spirit  forms  I  began 
to  see  only  one  —  a  woman  —  a  very  lovely  woman,  almost  like 
a  girl,  whose  presence  seemed  to  move  my  heart  with  a  strange 
feeling  of  emotion,  between  the  most  intense  sorrow  and  the 
greatest  joy.  While  she  was  visible  I  felt  happy;  when 
she  faded  away  I  felt  as  though  the  light  of  my  life  had  gone 
with  her,  and  I  would  be  seized  with  an  intense  longing 
to  break  free  from  my  earthly  body  and  follow  her.  At  first 
she  would  appear  to  lie  floating  in  the  heart  of  the  silver  Star,  as 
though  she  were  asleep;  her  eyes  were  closed  and  her  head  drooped 
upon  her  shoulder,  while  her  arms  hung  limp  and  powerless  at 
her  side.  Her  face  was  the  most  lovely  one  imaginable,  and  a 
a  great  wealth  of  dark  hair  hung  loosely  on  her  shoulders.  On 
her  head  she  wore  a  single  Silver  Star,  and  in  the  heart  of  this 
Star  there  was  a  drop  of  crimson  dew,  like  a  ruby,  while  her  white 
robes  were  bordered  by  silver  stars,  and  below  them  there 
came  a  border  of  crimson,  that  seemed  to  me  at  first  to  flow  from 
two  red  spots,  one  on  her  neck  and  the  other  on  her  shoulder. 
She  neither  smiled  nor  spoke  to  me  for  a  long  time,  but  her  presence 
always  woke  in  me  the  same  strange  emotion,  and  her  coming  must 
have  stopped  that  of  the  other  Spirit  forms,  for  I  saw  them  no 
more;  the  scenery  would  be  there  at  times,  the  troops  of  dancing 
children,  never. 

Again  and  again  I  saw  her,  and  at  last  one  day  her  eyes  opened 


24  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

and  she  appeared  to  be  awake,  for  she  gazed  at  me  with  wondering 
dark  eyes,  strangely  like  my  own.  By  degrees  she  grew  more  and 
more  awake,  and  would  smile  sweetly  at  me,  and  then  one  night 
she  drew  near  and  touched  me. 

But  Oh!  with  what  painful  emotion  her  touch  filled  my  Soul. 
I  wept  in  bitterest  anguish,  and  my  tears  caused  the  Star  to  fade 
and  she  vanished  away,  and  not  for  long  did  I  behold  her  again. 

For  long  I  kept  these  visions  to  myself.  I  shrank  instinctively 
from  sharing  my  secret  with  anyone;  but  at  last  I  told  my  foster 
mother,  and  she  was  much  disturbed  by  my  recital,  fearing  that 
my  beholding  these  things  must  portend  the  death  of  someone,  or 
trouble  of  some  sort.  She  also  feared  there  must  be  something 
unearthly  and  strange  about  me,  and  in  her  anxiety  she  first  gos- 
siped about  the  matter  with  all  her  neighbors,  and  then  decided  to 
consult  the  Priests  of  a  little  Hill  Temple  five  miles  away,  built 
upon  one  of  the  highest  mountains  where  it  could  catch  the  first 
and  last  rays  of  the  rising  and  setting  sun. 

By  the  Priests  she  was  somewhat  reassured  as  to  my  probable 
origin,  which  she  had  begun  to  fear  must  be  due  to  the  influence 
of  some  of  the  genii,  and  that  possible  I  was  not  mortal  after  all. 
She  was  advised  to  bring  me  with  her,  that  they  might  judge  for 
themselves  whether  my  visions  were  of  the  delusions  of  Ahriman 
and  his  fallen  Angels,  or  whether  they  were  truly  sent  from  the 
Angelic  spheres  and  betokened  the  possession  of  prophetic  powers. 

In  this  way  I  was  first  brought  under  the  notice  of  these  Priests, 
and  amongst  them  I  soon  found  a  congenial  friend  in  the  person 
of  one  of  the  brothers  of  the  humbler  order  of  Priesthood.  He 
was  a  man  of  about  forty  years  of  age,  an  enthusiast  and  a  vis- 
ionary, and  one  well  calculated  to  develope  in  me  all  these  strange 
powers  of  divination  I  had  inherited  from  my  mother.  By  this 
Priest  I  was  taught  to  read  and  write  in  the  Zend  characters,  and  to 
decipher  the  hieroglyphics  upon  the  rolls  of  illuminated  sheep-skin 
whereon  were  recorded  the  histories  of  other  Faiths  than  our  own. 
He  taught  me  also  to  read  the  meanings  of  many  of  the  symbolical 
pictures  carved  and  painted  upon  the  various  vessels  in  use  in  the 
service  of  the  Temple. 

From  him  I  learned  also  of  the  teachings  of  the  great  Zerdusht 
(or  Zoroaster,  as  some  call  him),  and  of  the  pure  doctrines  and 
reformed  sect  founded  by  him. 

He  also  taught  me  that  it  was  possible  to  acquire  the  art  of 
leaving  the  earthly  body,  and  wandering  at  will  through  the  Spirit 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  25 

spheres,  even  as  had  been  done  by  the  great  Zerdusht  himself 
in  order  that  he  might  bring  back  from  thence  the  teachings  of 
the  higher  Spirits.  To  do  this  required  a  long  and  severe  ap- 
prenticeship to  spiritual  things,  and  could  only  be  safely  practised 
by  those  within  the  precincts  of  a  Temple  or  other  holy  spot. 
(*  See  note  B.) 

Besides  these  things  he  spoke  to  me  of  many  other  mysteries, 
into  which  he  said  it  would  not  be  lawful  to  initiate  me  unless  I  had 
first  become  one  of  the  neophytes  of  the  Temple.  He  told  me 
that  such  powers  as  mine  were  clearly  intended  to  be  dedicated  to 
the  service  of  God,  and  so  worked  upon  my  imagination  and  en- 
thusiasm for  occult  things  that  I  was  all  eagerness  to  be  taken  into 
the  Temple  as  he  and  the  other  Priests  advised.  This  was,  however, 
impossible  without  the  consent  of  the  man  who  appeared  to  be  my 
guardian,  and  matters  had  to  be  left  in  abeyance  till  he  should 
come  again  to  inquire  about  my  welfare. 

Two  years  passed  ere  this  event,  and  meanwhile  my  constant 
visits  to  the  Temple,  and  the  unusual  and  rare  knowledge  I  was 
thereby  acquiring  (and  of  which  I  was  so  proud  that  I  did  not  keep 
it  to  myself,  but  boasted  of  it  to  my  companions)  had  excited  the 
jealousy  and  anger  of  our  little  community.  Although  my  foster 
parents  and  their  children,  from  motives  of  interest  and  affection, 
might  defer  to  me  and  be  proud  of  my  learning,  it  was  otherwise 
with  those  who  had  nothing  to  gain  or  lose  from  the  favor  of  my 
unknown  protector,  and  the  neighbors  and  their  sons 
naturally  resented  my  pecularities  and  airs  of  superiority.  I  was 
growing  a  tall  strong  lad,  and  my  quick  temper  and  overbearing 
ways  towards  those  I  deemed  my  inferiors  made  me  more  enemies 
than  friends. 

First  it  was  said  that  I  was  clearly  the  off-spring  of  some 
intrigue,  since  my  parents  were  ashamed  to  acknowledge  me: 
truly  a  pretty  fellow  to  give  himself  airs  over  them !  Then  when  my 
visions  were  known  and  talked  about  by  my  foster  mother  it  was 
said  I  must  be  the  child  of  some  of  the  genii, and  not  mortal  at  all; 
that  the  simple  Aboukir  and  his  wife  had  been  imposed  upon  by 
this  stranger,  who,  they  averred,  had  doubtless  foisted  some 
Changeling  upon  then!  Vague  stories  of  all  kinds  began  to  cir- 
culate. It  was  said  I  had  been  seen  wandering  about  the  hills 
after  dark  (which  was  in  part  true),  and  that  it  was  true  I  belonged 
to  the  class  of  ghouls  and  vampires.  The  hour  and  the  day  on 
which  I  had  been  brought  to  the  village  were  found  to  be  unlucky, 


26  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

and  marked  with  a  black  stone,  and  all  the  misfortunes  of 
the  tribe  were  attributed  to  my  influence,  since  it  was  thought  I 
possessed  the  evil  eye.  Ere  long  I  began  to  be  avoided  by  one  and 
all,  and  though  the  good  Priest,  on  hearing  of  these  stories,  called 
upon  the  headman  of  the  tribe  and  told  him  I  was  destined  to  the 
service  of  the  Temple,  his  visit  only  served  to  make  the  stories 
against  me  to  be  whispered  instead  of  spoken  aloud  to  all  the 
world. 

At  first  I  felt  most  bitterly  hurt  by  these  things,  and  all  the 
philosophic  consolations  bestowed  upon  me  by  my  friend  the 
Priest  Abubatha  failed  to  comfort  me.  Then  my  pride  awoke, 
my  imperious  temper  asserted  itself,  and  I  repaid  their  dislike  with 
tenfold  contempt  and  scorn. 

Thus  I  became  more  solitary  in  my  ways  than  ever,  for  ill- 
natured  gossip  once  started  is  not  easily  laid  to  rest,  and  the  gulf 
between  myself  and  my  fellows  became  only  wider  as  time  passed 
on. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  TWO  STRANGERS 

I  was  thirteen  years  old  when  the  man  who  had  brought  me  to 
this  valley  came  again,  and  my  foster  father  Aboukir  told  him  of 
my  visions  and  my  visits  to  the  Priests  in  the  Temple,  but  of  the 
whispered  stories  against  me  he  said  no  word,  fearing  lest  he  should 
be  deprived  in  consequence  of  the  care  of  me. 

The  stranger  pondered  the  matter  over  for  a  short  time,  and 
then  sent  for  me  to  speak  with  him.  But  I  could  not  be  found, 
as  I  had  gone  away  upon  one  of  my  long  rambles  over  the  moun- 
tains, and  the  stranger  left,  promising  to  return  shortly. 

A  few  weeks  after  this,  when  I  was  alone  in  the  house,  my  foster 
father  having  gone  to  attend  some  distant  flocks,  and  my  foster 
mother  to  gossip  with  her  neighbors,  I  was  aroused  from  my 
studies  by  hearing  the  trampling  of  horses'  feet,  and  looking  out 
I  beheld  two  horsemen  dismounting  at  our  door.  Their  rich 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  27 

dresses  and  richly  caparisoned  steeds  proclaimed  them  to  be  of 
high  rank.  One  was  a  rather  short  but  very  broad  shouldered 
and  powerful  looking  man,  whom  I  had  no  trouble  in  recognizing 
from  my  foster  parent's  description  as  the  mysterious  stranger 
who  had  brought  me  there. 

The  other  was  much  taller  and  more  slender,  though  also  a 
powerful  looking  man.  His  face  was  partly  covered  by  a  thick 
black  beard,  and  his  expression  was,  even  to  my  childish  eyes, 
very  sad  and  grave. 

The  beauty  of  the  horses  greatly  attracted  me,  for  I  was  very 
fond  of  all  animals,  but  especially  of  horses,  and  I  had  early 
learned  to  ride  and  to  excel  in  all  the  simple  feats  of  horseman 
ship  practised  by  the  hill  tribes,  who  are  largely  engaged  in 
rearing  horses  as  well  as  sheep  and  goats. 

But  I  had  never  seen  such  beautiful  horses  as  these,  such 
graceful,  pretty  creatures,  that  stood  arching  their  glossy  necks  and 
tossing  their  long  manes  and  pawing  the  ground  in  their  impatience, 
and  I  drew  near  the  tall  stranger's  horse  to  stroke  and  caress  it, 
staring  at  the  two  men  with  wondering  eyes  as  I  did  so. 

"  Where  are  the  herdsman  Aboukir  and  his  wife  ? ' '  asked 
the  short  stranger. 

I  told  him,  and  said  I  would  go  and  fetch  them,  but  he 
stopped  me,  and  said  it  did  not  matter,  for  that  it  was  the  boy 
Ahrinziman  they  had  come  to  see. 

All  this  time  I  was  stroking  the  horse  and  patting  it,  and  it 
seemed  to  like  my  touch,  for  it  grew  quiet  under  it.  The  short 
stranger  noticed  this,  and  added  "Thou  art  a  bold  boy  surely,  to  be 
so  ready  to  touch  another  man's  horse. " 

"I  am  not  afraid  of  anything"  said  I,  frowning  at  him,  for  I 
liked  not  his  tone  of  banter. 

"  See  there,  O  Sire!  whom  did  the  boy  resemble  then?"  said  the 
short  man,  "We  need  no  herdsman's  wife  to  tell  us  whose  son 
this  is." 

"You  are  right,"  answered  the  other,  and  then  he  added  with 
a  sigh,  "He  is  like  her  also,  he  hath  her  eyes,  surely  he  will  be  like 
her  in  other  ways."  Then  turning  to  me  he  said: 

"Wouldst  thou  like  to  be  a  soldier,  since  thou  dost  fear  no 
man? 

"I  had  rather  be  a  Priest,  for  then  I  should  live  in  the  Temple, 
and  no  one  would  dare  to  jeer  at  me;  all  men  would  pay  me  respect; 
I  would  be  a  Priest  and  a  Prophet  like  unto  the  great  Zerdusht, 


28  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

and  all  men  would  do  homage  to  my  powers.  I  would  not  be  a 
soldier,  for  a  soldier  has  always  to  obey  orders;  there  is  ever  one 
above  him;  even  the  Commander  must  obey  the  King,  and  I 
would  not  bow  to  any  man;  rather  would  I  have  all  men  harken 
unto  me. " 

The  short  man  laughed.  "Behold!"  said  he,  "how  loudly 
he  crows  already ! "  B ut  the  other  answered  me  gravely. 

'"How  dost  thou  know,  Ahrinziman,  that  thou  couldst  be- 
come a  great  Prophet  ?  —  Are  there  not  many  within  the  Tem- 
ples whose  lives  are  ever  humble  ?  —  There  hath  been  but  one 
Zerdusht:  how  can  thine  ambition  make  thee  think  to  become 
as  great  as  he  ?  " 

"Because  the  Priest  Abubatha  says  that  since  the  days  of 
Zerdusht  there  have  been  few  who  beheld  the  things  of  the  Spirit 
world  with  the  clear  eyes  with  which  I  see  them.  He  thinks  that 
were  I  to  devote  myself  now  to  the  service  of  the  Temple  I  might 
become  almost  as  great  a  seer  as  Zerdusht.  Who  knows  but  that 
I  would  surely  become  as  great  at  he,  when  I  am  as  old  as  he  was 
when  he  began  to  prophesy  ?  " 

"Thou  art  not  wanting  in  ambition,  truly  Oh  Ahrinziman! 
"Yet  tell  me  of  the  visions  of  which  thou  dost  speak,  that  we  may 
judge  from  whence  they  come. " 

Then  I  told  him  of  all  those  things  which  I  had  seen;  of  the 
lovely  Spirits  and  the  bright  Star  and  the  glowing  pictures  and 
last  I  told  him  of  the  White  Angel  as  I  called  her.  He  questioned 
me  much  concerning  her,  and  seemed  much  agitated  when  I  told 
him  how  she  had  looked  at  first;  and  when  I  spoke  of  the  two  red 
spots  that  gave  the  red  bordering  to  her  robes  his  face  darkened 
with  anger  as  well  as  sorrow,  and  he  clenched  his  hands  and  ap- 
peared moved  to  much  passion. 

Then  I  told  him  that  of  late  the  red  spots  were  gone,  although 
the  red  border  remained,  and  that  she  was  awake  now  and  smiled 
on  me,  and  had  touched  me  once,  but  that  her  touch  gave  me 
suffering  and  pain,  although  I  longed  always  for  her  to  come  to 
me  again.  And  when  I  told  him  this  he  put  his  hand  upon  my 
shoulder,  and  bade  me  look  up  at  him  and  tell  it  all  to  him  once 
more.  And  as  I  did  so  he  kept  his  hand  upon  me,  as  though  to 
assure  himself  who  it  was  that  was  speaking  to  him. 

As  I  finished  my  recital  for  the  second  time  a  sudden  impulse 
caused  me  to  clasp  his  hand  in  mine,  and  raising  it  to  my  lips  I 
kissed  it  passionately.  It  was  as  though  for  that  instant  the  most 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  29 

intense  love  for  him  took  possession  of  my  Soul,  and  I  could  have 
embraced  him  and  wept  over  him  in  mingled  joy  and  sorrow. 

But  he  was  a  stranger  to  me,  and  I  was  afraid,  and  the  impulse 
passed  away. 

As  I  kissed  his  hand  he  cried  out  in  agitation,  "God  of  my 
Fathers!  that  was  her  action  exactly!  that  was  her  way  with  me!" 
and  he  took  his  hand  from  me  and  covered  his  face  with  his  mantle 
as  he  turned  away.  Yet  I  could  tell  that  he  was  weeping,  for  he 
spoke  not,  but  strode  back  and  forth  as  though  wrestling  with  his 
sorrow,  while  the  other  man  walked  away  from  us  into  the  house, 
as  though  in  respect  to  his  emotions. 

After  a  little  while  the  tall  stranger  came  back  to  me,  and  tak- 
ing a  thick  richly  wrought  gold  chain  from  his  neck  he  flung  it 
over  my  head,  saying,  "Show  that  to  your  White  Angel  when 
she  comes  again,  and  ask  her  if  she  has  no  word,  no  sign,  to 
give  me  ?  " 

Then  he  kissed  me  many  times,  embracing  me  with  much 
tenderness,  while  I  clung  to  him  and  prayed  that  he  would  take 
me  with  him,  though  I  knew  not  who  he  was.  But  he  put 
me  away  at  last  and  turned  to  summon  his  friend,  saying  to 
me,  "Not  yet,  Oh  beloved  child  of  my  lost  Cynthia;  not  yet;  but 
soon  shalt  thou  come  unto  me  and  be  the  comfort  of  my  sad 
days." 

Then  they  went  forth  and  mounted  their  horses  and  rode  away, 
while  I  stood  looking  after  them,  and  especially  after  the  tall 
stranger  who  turned  to  look  at  me  many  times,  till  a  bend  in  the 
mountain  pass  hid  them  from  my  sight. 

Then  I  went  into  the  house,  and  on  the  table  I  found  a  bag  of 
gold  and  a  message  written,  which  I  could  now  read,  to  say  that 
nothing  was  to  be  done  till  the  strangers  came  again;  and  I 
guessed  it  had  been  left  by  the  short  man  while  we  were 
speaking. 


30  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

CHAPTER  III 

I  ENTER  THE  TEMPLE 

DURING  many  weeks  we  looked  for  the  return  of  the  strangers, 
but  they  came  not.  But  I  saw  my  White  Angel  again. 

She  came  one  night  and  stood  smiling  and  looking  upon  me 
from  the  heart  of  the  Silver  Star;  then  she  drew  near  to  me,  and 
though  she  did  not  touch  me  she  raised  the  chain,  which  I  had 
always  worn  since  the  tall  stranger  gave  it  to  me,  to  her  lips  and 
kissed  it,  and  I  thought  she  said  "Tell  him  that. "  And  she  faded 
away  again,  and  was  lost  in  the  light  of  the  Silver  Star. 

Soon  after  the  strangers'  visit  the  monotony  of  our  life  was 
broken  by  the  arrival  in  our  village  of  one  of  the  tribesmen  who 
had  gone  to  fight  in  the  Sultan's  army,  and  who  now  returned  too 
crippled  to  serve  any  longer.  He  brought  with  him  much  treasure, 
plundered  no  doubt  during  the  time  of  service,  and  he  soon  estab- 
lished himself  in  a  fine  tent  with  a  wife,  whose  dress  and  ornaments 
became  the  envy  of  all  her  neighbors.  And  he  also  bought  a  fine 
flock  of  sheep  and  goats. 

Chance  brought  me  across  this  man,  although  as  a  rule  I 
avoided  the  village,  and  very  soon  a  kind  of  friendship  sprang  up 
between  us,  for  the  man  had  many  strange  tales  to  tell  of  his  ad- 
venturous wanderings,  and  the  exciting  scenes  of  war,  and  I  was 
greedy  for  all  stories  of  that  world  which  lay  beyond  our  mountains, 
and  of  which  I  thought  much  oftener  since  the  visit  of  the  two 
strangers. 

I  had  begun  to  waver  in  my  desire  to  be  a  Prophet,  and  as  I 
listened  to  the  tales  told  by  the  soldier  my  imagination  became 
fired  at  the  thought  of  the  stirring  life  a  soldier  led,  and  the  strange 
countries  and  people  that  he  saw,  and  but  for  the  influence  of  my 
friend  Abubatha  over  me  I  should  have  thought  seriously  of  chan- 
ging my  ambition,  and  adopting  a  more  exciting  life  than  that  of  a 
Prophet. 

In  truth  I  was  but  little  fitted  to  form  a  right  judgment  upon 
the  merits  of  either  mode  of  life. 

Nearly  six  months  passed,  and  then  one  evening  a  hurried 
messenger  arrived  upon  a  weary  horse,  bringing  a  ring  which  they 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


31 


remembered  the  short  stranger  to  have  worn,  and  a  message  that 
"The  ring  was  sent  in  token  of  the  authority  of  the  messenger, 
and  was  to  be  kept  until  the  owner  came  himself  to  claim  it,  and 
they  were  to  lose  no  time  in  placing  me  within  the  precincts  of  the 
Temple." 

Then  the  man  rode  away  again,  and  thus  was  my  fate  decided. 

The  next  day  I  was  taken  to  the  Temple,  and  formally  re- 
ceived by  my  friend  and  the  other  Priests.  And  after  all,  instead 
of  hailing  this  event  with  joy,  as  I  should  have  done  some  months 
before,  I  felt  instead  a  feeling  of  disappointment  and  foreboding 
of  some  sorrow. 

I  did  not  enjoy  the  happiness  of  my  beloved  friend's  society 
long.  Within  a  year  from  my  admission  to  the  Temple  he  died 
quite  suddenly,  leaving  me  once  more  without  one  congenial  friend. 
I  had  thought  he  would  at  least  come  back  to  me  from  the  shadow 
land,  as  my  White  Angel  came,  but  I  never  saw  him,  and  not 
till  I  myself  passed  over  to  the  world  of  Spirits  did  I  learn  why. 

The  other  Priests  \vere  kind  to  .me,  but  not  the  sympathetic 
friends  that  Abubatha  had  been,  and  I  lost  my  spirits  and  grew 
very  sad  after  his  death. 

Then  there  came  another  change,  and  for  me  a  harder  one 
still.  I  was  sent,  why,  I  was  not  told,  from  the  little  mountain 
Temple  to  the  far  larger  and  far  more  important  one  of  Amurath. 
And  then  began  for  me  a  long  and  weary  and  monotonous 
period  which,  were  I  to  describe  it  in  detail  would  but  weary 
those  who  read  my  story.  This  Temple  of  Amurath  was  a  very 
different  place  to  the  little  lonely  one  amongst  the  mountains  of 
the  Caucasus,  and  its  Priests  were  far  more  wealthy  and  auto- 
cratic than  the  humble  kindly  men  I  had  known,  and  once  fairly 
dedicated  to  the  service  of  God  I  found  life  to  be  a  very  different 
thing  from  what  it  had  been  during  the  pleasant  friendly  inter- 
course I  had  held  with  my  beloved  friend. 

A  severe  regimen  of  lonely  vigils  and  prolonged  fasts  was  im- 
posed upon  me,  the  great  object  of  my  training  being  to  subdue 
the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  turn  my  mind  from  all  earthly  thoughts 
to  the  contemplation  of  Heavenly  things.  For  this  purpose  all 
intercourse  with  the  world  outside  the  Temple  walls  was  prohibited 
to  me.  Had  my  friend  Abubatha  been  alive  I  should  not  have 
felt  this  to  be  so  great  a  privation,  but  I  had  no  sympathy  with  any 
of  these  Priests,  and  I  yearned  so  intensely  to  see  my  friend  again, 
that  this,  and  the  severe  strain  of  the  training  imposed  upon  a 


32  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINRIMAN 

growing  lad,  caused  my  health  to  give  way,  and  I  became  so  seri- 
ously and  even  dangerously  ill  that  my  instructors  were  obliged  to 
relax  their  rules  and  suspend  my  development  for  a  considerable 
time,  and  allow  me  to  wander  freely  about  within  the  precincts  of 
the  Temple.  To  go  outside  the  walls  was  impossible,  the  great 
gates  being  only  opened  to  admit  egress  or  ingress  of  the  proces- 
sions of  the  Priests,  and  those  who,  like  myself,  were  reserved  as 
the  mediums  through  whom  the  oracles  were  to  be  given,  were 
never  allowed  to  join  in  them,  and  seldom  even  to  mix  with  each 
other,  lest  we  might  thereby  impair  the  purity  of  our  gift  by  absorb- 
ing the  ideas  of  someone  on  Earth.  We  were  only  allowed  to  see 
the  Priests;  men,  who  not  possessing  the  power  of  divination  them- 
selves were  yet  the  instructors  and  regulators  of  the  lives  and  visions 
of  those  hapless  sensitives  who  possessed  these  gifts. 

During  the  period  of  my  illness  my  visions  departed  or  became 
so  confused  as  to  be  valueless,  and  when  I  returned  to  health  I 
found  that  they  had  assumed  a  new  form.  My  White  Angel  and 
the  troops  of  dancers  I  never  more  beheld,  but  instead  I  would  see 
grave  majestic  men  in  priestly  robes,  bearing  long  scrolls  in  their 
hands,  who  showed  me  the  answers  to  questions  asked  of  them  by 
the  earthly  Priests  by  means  of  pictures  and  by  messages  con- 
veyed in  symbolical  language,  scarcely  understood  by  myself,  but 
whose  meanings  were  interpreted  by  the  Priests,  and,  I  am  very 
certain,  often  wrongly  interpreted  and  distorted  to  suit  their  own 
peculiar  idiosyncrasies,  and  to  dovetail  into  their  own  the- 
ories. 

That  my  powers  were  very  great  was  fully  recognized,  and  I 
was  therefore  more  completely  isolated  from  my  companions  than 
ever  in  order  that  no  influence  from  them  might  blend  with  the 
oracles  given  through  me  —  a  wise  precaution  theoretically,  but 
one  whose  usefulness  was  greatly  nullified  by  the  constant  presence 
and  influence  around  the  clairvoyants  of  these  strong-minded  posi- 
tive-ideaed  Priests,  with  their  fixed  theories  concerning  most 
things,  and  their  desire  to  make  all  revelations  coincide  with  them. 
They  forgot  that  their  ideas  were  even  more  likely  than  those  of 
my  fellow  neophytes  to  color  my  visions  and  interpose  a  barrier 
between  my  clear  sight  and  the  Spirit  communications. 

Another  mistake  they  made  was  taking  these  clairvoyants  into 
the  Temples  before  they  had  acquired  any  knowledge  of  the  true 
relations  of  material  life,  and  imagining  that  ignorance  was 
necessarily  purity  of  thought.  Innocence  and  ignorance  are 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  33 

often  synonymous,  but  the  innocence  which  springs  only  from 
ignorance  is  but  a  poor  shield  against  the  influence  of  evil  powers. 
These  ignorant  beings  might  be  like  children  in  innocence,  but 
they  were  also  like  them  in  mental  development,  and  had  all  the 
failings  and  weakness  of  children  as  well  as  their  virtues,  all  the 
illogical  imperfect  standards  of  judging  things,  and  all  the  undis- 
ciplined unregulated  passions.  And  like  children,  or  half  de- 
veloped Souls,  they  could  only  come  into  direct  communication 
with  the  Spirits  of  the  Silver  Star,  whose  own  ignorance  of  mun- 
dane affairs  did  not  fit  them  to  become  very  wise  counsellors. 
The  influence  of  the  mortal  Priests  might  and  did  give  a  more 
practical  bias  to  these  imperfect  revelations,  but  their  influence 
did  not  come  from  the  Spirit  side  of  life,  and  only  served  to  con- 
fuse what  did. 

Hence  arose  that  condition  of  error  and  confusion  which  as 
time  went  on  became  so  marked  as  to  discredit  the  Oracles  alto- 
gether, and  led  to  the  final  overthrow  of  those  systems  of  religion 
of  which  they  formed  so  important  a  part. 

The  prophets  who  led  a  more  natural  life  and  mingled  with 
their  fellow  men  might,  and  often  did,  color  their  prophecies  with 
the  thought  emanations  of  those  around  them,  but  their  visions, 
being  drawn  from  the  practical  experiences  of  life,  were  of  a  certain 
practical  value,  though  —  owing  to  the  fact  that  prophets  who  could 
thus  mingle  freely  with  other  men  were  not  of  the  highest  order  — 
their  source  of  inspiration  was  limited  to  the  first  and  second 
spheres,  and  their  visions  were  therefore  far  from  being  as  beautiful 
and  elevated  as  those  of  the  mystics  secluded  within  the  Temples. 

The  spiritual  laws  which  govern  the  various  forms  of  divina- 
tion, and  which  explain  the  causes  of  the  different  degrees  of  power, 
I  shall  enter  into  more  fully  at  a  later  stage  of  my  history,  when  I 
had  come  to  understand  them  more  fully  myself. 

To  return  now  to  the  experiences  of  my  life  in  this  Temple. 
I  may  point  out  that  a  Sensitive  or  Medium  is  of  necessity  one  who 
feels  readily  all  the  influences  which  prevail  around  him  or  her. 
The  Material,  being  the  strongest  influence,  will  be  felt  first  and 
in  the  most  dominant  degree,  hence  the  Priests  in  the  Temple  were 
themselves  responsible  for  many  of  the  things  I  saw  or  heard,  and 
their  constant  influence  about  me  shut  out  as  with  a  thick  veil  of 
materiality  the  more  spiritual  visions  which  I  had  beheld  as  a 
child  when  quite  alone. 

The  long  exhausting  fasts,  the  lonely  vigils,  intended  ,to  sub- 


34 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


jugate  the  flesh,  served  only  to  weaken  the  tie  between  it  and  the 
Spirit  to  such  a  degree  that  it  was  no  longer  possible  for  the  Spirit 
to  impress  upon  the  body  a  clear  picture  of  what  it  beheld.  If 
it  did  so  at  all  it  was  as  a  broken  and  imperfect  communication, 
which  resembled  in  its  grotesqueness  the  jumbled  pieces  of  some 
puzzle  picture  shaken  together  in  any  fashion. 

To  obtain  a  true  communication  from  the  Spirit  to  the  body, 
when  the  Spirit  has  so  far  detached  itself  as  to  be  able  to  wander 
away  into  the  Spirit  World  on  its  own  account  and  penetrate  the 
mysteries  of  Spirit  life,  it  requires  that  body  and  Spirit  shall  be  in 
perfect  working  order  and  in  possession  of  the  best  of  its  powers; 
otherwise  the  earthly  body  becomes  like  a  hard  lump  of  clay, 
instead  of  a  pliable  wax-like  mould,  capable  of  receiving  the  im- 
press of  the  spiritual  brain  at  the  moment  of  its  return  to  the 
earthly  envelope.  If  the  impression  is  not  at  once  conveyed  a 
more  recent  sensation  will  take  its  place,  and  the  first  idea,  if 
stamped  upon  the  brain  at  all,  will  become  confused  with  the 
second  one,  and  thus  become  imperfect  and  misleading. 

A  body  in  perfect  health  and  in  perfect  touch  with  the  Soul 
inhabiting  it  is  soft,  warm,  and  pliable,  as  all  can  feel  for  them- 
selves. A  body  which  is  dead  is  rigid  and  cold,  and  no  longer 
capable  of  expressing  the  Soul's  emotions  or  experiences,  because 
it  is  no  longer  capable  of  having  the  stamp  of  these  feelings  en- 
graved like  a  picture  upon  the  tablets  of  the  earthly  brain.  And 
a  body  weakened  by  starvation  is  a  body  partially  dead,  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  and  therefore  not  able  to  receive  a  clearly 
stamped  impression  of  purely  spiritual  things. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  while  it  is  attached  in  any  way  to 
the  earthly  envelope  the  Soul  has  to  draw  its  nourishment  through 
the  organism  of  the  earthly  body,  and  from  mortal  things  it  must 
extract  the  spiritual  essence  wherewith  to  renew  the  spiritual 
substance  of  its  spiritual  body,  even  as  the  earthly  body  is  renewed 
and  sustained  by  earthly  food;  so  that  if  the  earthly  envelope  is 
starved  the  Soul  suffers  with  it,  and  is  thereby  weakened.  With- 
out doubt  it  is  a  fatal  error  to  over-indulge  the  earthly  body,  but 
it  is  a  no  less  fatal  error  to  neglect  or  starve  it;  for  it  is  the  true 
adjustment  of  an  equal  balance  between  the  animal  and  spiritual 
halves  of  the  Soul  which  is  needful  to  afford  the  best  conditions 
under  which  to  study  spiritual  things,  and  to  receive  spiritual 
revelations. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  how  great  is  the  error  of  supposing  that  it 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  35 

is  necessary  to  starve  the  earthly  body  in  order  to  subdue  it  and 
prevent  it  from  hampering  the  immortal  Soul. 

Oh !  great  is  the  folly  of  man  in  imagining  that  he  can  improve 
upon  God's  handiwork!  or  that  if  the  cravings  of  the  material 
body  serve  only  as  a  clog  upon  the  higher  aspirations  of  man's 
Soul  the  Supreme  Wisdom  would  have  endowed  him  with  such  a 
body  at  all! 


CHAPTER  IV 

MY  FLIGHT  FROM  THE  TEMPLE 

To  a  youth  such  as  I  was,  full  of  life  and  exuberant  spirits, 
with  a  vigorous  constitution  and  an  impetuous  and  vehement 
temper,  the  life  of  the  Temple  soon  became  insupportable.  I 
was  at  an  age  when  the  blood  is  warm,  and  courses  swiftly  through 
the  veins,  and  the  passions  are  strong,  requiring  to  be  educated 
and  regulated,  not  simply  suppressed.  I  required  a  life  of  action, 
and  I  thirsted  for  love  and  friendship,  and  they  condemned  me  to 
a  loveless,  joyless,  stagnation,  which  might  have  suited  some 
valetudinarian  whose  days  of  action  were  over,  and  whose  blood 
was  cold  and  sluggish,  and  who  only  sought  a  peaceful  resting 
place  wherein  to  await  the  great  change. 

I  hungered  for  knowledge,  and  they  gave  me  crumbs  of  mystic 
lore,  that  left  me  starving  and  ignorant  as  before. 

I  was  full  of  the  wildest  ambitions,  the  keenest  desire  for  power, 
and  they  sought  to  make  my  mind  and  body  alike  subject  to  the 
will  and  caprices  of  petty  tyrants,  whose  narrow  lives  and  cramped 
dogmatic  minds  unfitted  them  to  control  the  destiny  of  the  mean- 
est slave! 

They  starved  my  Soul.  They  cramped  my  thoughts.  They 
well  nigh  extinguished  life  itself  in  pursuit  of  their  pet  theories, 
and  in  their  attempt  to  train  me  down  to  think  and  see  as  they  did. 
As  well  might  they  have  taken  a  young  eaglet  from  its  lofty  moun- 
tain nest  and  sought  to  make  it  lead  the  life  of  a  barn-door  fowl ! 

What  wonder  then  that  my  Soul  revolted,  and  that  being  strong 


36  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

in  mind  as  well  as  body  I  could  not  submit,  like  many  of  the  un- 
happy neophytes  around  me,  to  sink  into  a  mere  tool,  a  poor 
shadow  of  other  men's  thoughts! 

At  first  I  wrestled  with  myself,  and  strove  to  be  content.  I 
thought  it  was  the  temptations  of  devils  which  assailed  me  with 
this  giant  "  Discontent/'  But  my  clear  intellect  could  not  thus 
be  satisfied  with  a  sophism,  a  formula,  doled  out  to  all  those  whose 
minds  revolted  from  a  state  of  existence  for  which  they  were 
unsuited,  and  I  grew  at  last  to  be  so  desperate  in  my  desire  for 
freedom  that  right  or  wrong  I  vowed  I  would  be  free!  no  man, 
be  he  Priest  or  layman,  should  shackle  me ! 

When  the  timber  is  dry  it  wants  but  a  spark  to  start  a  great 
conflagration,  and  a  mere  spark,  a  chance  word  spoken  in  the 
grave,  pompous,  monotonous  tones  of  the  High  Priest  was  enough 
to  fan  my  smouldering  revolt  into  flame. 

He  thought  fit  to  reprove  me  for  some  trifling  lapse  of  duty, 
and  I  answered  him,  to  his  astonishment  and  anger.  He  quickly 
imposed  a  penance  of  so  many  days  of  fasting  and  solitude,  whereon 
I  told  him  that  I  would  not  obey  him,  that  I  hated  the  Temple 
and  its  rules,  and  I  hated  him!  I  would  go  forth  to  be  free!  free! 

In  great  wrath  he  told  me  such  a  thing  was  impossible :  "  None 
who  enter  the  Temple's  walls  ever  leave  them  again  to  return  to 
the  life  of  ordinary  men,  Oh!  vain  and  presumptuous  youth.  A 
temper  like  unto  thine  needs  much  discipline  to  subdue  it,  and 
here  there  are  means  strong  enough  to  do  so,  and  those  who  have 
the  power  to  use  them.  Great  is  the  penance  such  discontent  as 
thine  doth  merit.  Such  blindness  to  the  blessings  and  privileges 
thou  hast  enjoyed  deserves  severe  punishment,  and  shall  receive 
it.  Terrible  is  the  fate  which  thou  hast  incurred  by  thine  impious 
discontent  and  desire  to  quit  the  service  of  the  Temple;  yea,  even 
death  itself  hath  been  awarded  for  such  words  as  thou  hast 
spoken.'* 

He  delivered  himself  of  these  words  in  a  hard,  rasping,  monoto- 
nous voice,  and  his  manner  and  cruel  want  of  sympathy  with  my 
feelings  so  maddened  me  that,  excited  as  I  already  was,  I  turned 
upon  him,  and  trembling  in  every  limb  with  passion,  sought  to 
push  past  him  and  leave  the  little  cell.  But  he  barred  the  way, 
and  tried  to  thrust  me  back.  Whereon,  reckless  now  in  my  revolt, 
I  struck  him  to  the  earth,  and  stepping  over  his  prostrate  body  fled 
for  dear  life,  well  knowing  what  penalty  must  await  one  whose 
sacrilegious  hand  had  struck  down  a  Priest. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


37 


I  met  no  one  on  my  way  to  the  gates,  for  it  was  the  hour  at 
which  most  of  the  inmates  of  the  Temple  were  at  private  medita- 
tion or  reposing.  The  gates  were  shut  fast,  and  for  a  moment 
I  thought  that  I  was  lost.  Then  I  beheld  a  tree  whose  branches 
hung  over  the  wall  low  enough  for  me  to  reach  them  with  an  active 
spring,  and  soon  I  had  swung  myself  by  their  aid  on  to  the  wall 
and  dropped  down  on  the  other  side.  I  then  ran  for  dear  life,  on 
and  on,  stopping  neither  to  look  back  nor  where  I  was  going,  only 
thankful  that  there  were  no  signs  of  pursuit  behind  me. 

For  some  hours  I  ran  on,  and  at  last,  overcome  by  exhaustion, 
I  stopped  and  gazed  around  me.  I  was  among  great  mountains, 
whose  dark  passes  and  many  precipices  might  easily  afford  me  a 
hiding  place.  How  far  from  the  Temple  I  was  I  could  not  guess, 
but  from  the  efforts  I  had  made  and  the  number  of  hours  I  had 
struggled  on  I  thought  it  must  be  far  behind  me.  Whether  I  had 
killed  the  Priest,  or  only  stunned  him,  I  did  not  much  care;  I  was 
still  too  angry  to  think  much  of  it.  And  as  I  gazed  up  at  the  clear 
star-lit  sky  above  me,  and  watched  the  glittering  canopy  studded 
with  its  myriad  sparkling  gems  of  light,  a  wild  feeling  of  exulta- 
tion filled  my  Soul,  for  I  was  free  at  lastl 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  TRIBESMEN  OF  THE  HILLS 

I  was  so  much  exhausted  by  my  exertions  that,  feeling  myself 
in  comparative  safety,  I  lay  down  upon  the  ground  and  was 
soon  fast  asleep. 

The  sun  was  already  high  in  the  heavens  ere  I  awoke,  and 
with  my  return  to  consciousness  my  naturally  healthy  appetite 
asserted  its  claims  with  so  much  persistence  that  I  was  fain  to 
risk  the  danger  of  discovery  and  seek  for  some  one  from  whom 
I  could  buy  food. 

I  had  lain  down  upon  a  mountain  side  to  sleep,  and  below 
me  there  lay  a  wide  valley  wherein  a  herd  of  sheep  and  goats 
were  browsing,  while  the  herdsman's  tent  could  be  distinguished 
almost  directly  beneath  the  spot  on  which  I  stood. 


38  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

I  had  no  money,  and  nothing  of  value  to  offer  in  exchange 
for  such  things  as  I  desired  save  the  gold  chain  I  wore  round 
my  neck.  From  this,  by  the  aid  of  a  sharp  stone,  I  broke  off 
two  of  the  massive  links,  and  then  made  my  way  into  the  valley. 
The  herdsman  was  absent,  but  his  wife,  after  a  brisk  barter 
between  us,  agreed  to  give  me  a  suit  of  her  husband's  clothes 
and  some  goat's  milk  and  cakes  in  exchange  for  my  gold  links. 
I  felt  sure  the  wroman  was  cheating  me  and  giving  me  very  little 
for  what  I  gave  her,  but  her  many  questions  embarrassed  and 
alarmed  me,  and  I  was  anxious  to  hurry  on  once  more. 

As  soon  as  I  had  got  fairly  out  of  sight  of  the  valley  I  sat 
down  and  ate  ravenously;  then,  putting  on  the  shepherd's  clothes, 
I  made  my  neophyte's  dress  (which  I  knew  would  betray  me 
and  make  it  easy  to  trace  my  flight)  into  a  bundle,  and  looked 
about  for  the  most  effectual  means  of  disposing  of  it. 

I  was  near  the  edge  of  a  precipitous  mountain  gorge,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  I  could  dimly  discern  a  small  streamlet  rushing 
over  its  rocky  bed.  As  it  appeared  practically  inaccessible,  I 
resolved  to  throw  my  clothes  down  there,  and  in  order  to  make 
them  fall  the  more  securely  I  filled  the  bundle  with  lumps  of 
rock,  tying  them  up  as  well  as  I  could,  and  then  threw  them 
over.  In  my  haste  I  had  not  tied  them  very  securely,  and  as 
they  fell  some  of  the  stones  tumbled  out,  lightening  the  bundle 
so  much  that  instead  of  falling  straight  clown,  as  I  had  hoped, 
they  were  caught  by  the  wind  and  blown  on  to  a  ledge  of  rock 
about  half-way  down,  where  they  lay  half-spread  out,  and  look- 
ing, to  my  chagrin,  remarkably  like  a  figure  which  had  fallen 
over  the  precipice. 

I  was  so  much  disturbed  by  this  mishap  that  I  thought  of 
climbing  down  to  dislodge  them,  but  I  soon  found  this  was 
impossible,  owing  to  the  steepness  of  the  over-hanging  rocks, 
and  I  was  obliged  to  go  on  and  leave  them  where  they  lay.  Lit- 
tle did  I  guess  that  to  this  incident  I  was  to  owe  at  once  my 
immunity  from  pursuit  and  the  loss  of  a  valuable  protector. 

As  I  had  left  the  shepherd's  valley  in  a  westerly  direction 
I  now  resolved  to  double  back,  and  passing  behind  it  again 
to  make  my  way  towards  the  South,  hoping  that  if  the  shep- 
herd's wife  had  watched  me  she  would  thus  be  thrown  off 
the  trail. 

For  two  days  I  journeyed  on,  resting  for  a  few  hours  in  the 
heat  of  the  day  and  at  night,  and  then  hurrying  on  again,  On 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  39 

the  evening  of  the  second  day  I  found  myself  among  a  low  range 
of  foothills,  beyond  which  lay  a  sandy  desert.  Here  I  resolved 
to  lie  down  and  rest  before  attempting  to  cross  it.  I  had  not 
slept  long  before  I  was  rudely  awakened  by  the  glare  of  torches 
held  before  my  eyes,  and  the  loud  whisperings  of  about  a  dozen 
rough-looking  men  who  had  just  discovered  me.  I  tried  to 
spring  up  and  escape,  but  was  at  once  seized,  and  a  couple  of 
long  knives  were  brandished  within  an  inch  of  my  face,  while  a 
torrent  of  abuse,  in  the  barbarous  dialect  of  one  of  the  Hill 
Tribes,  was  poured  upon  me. 

Seeing  that  resistance  was  worse  than  useless,  I  resigned 
myself  to  my  fate,  relieved  in  part  to  find  that  these  men  were 
at  least  not  emissaries  of  the  Priests  sent  to  capture  me.  They 
were  very  angry  at  finding  nothing  of  value  upon  me,  for  I  had 
taken  the  precaution  of  hiding  my  gold  chain  in  the  high-peaked 
sheep-skin  cap  I  had  got  from  the  herdsman's  wife.  After  feeling 
me  all  over  several  times  without  any  result,  I  heard  them  begin 
to  discuss  the  advisability  of  cutting  my  throat  and  throwing 
me  over  the  rocks,  or  else  taking  me  as  a  captive  to  the  Chief, 
and  I  thought  it  high  time  to  put  in  a  word  upon  my  own  behalf. 
So  I  said : 

"Be  not  so  angry,  O  Friends!  that  I  have  nothing  of  value 
upon  me  wherewith  to  reward  you  for  capturing  me;  rather 
give  me  your  pity,  since  I  am  a  poor  fugitive  who  has  fled  from 
one  'danger  only  to  encounter  another  still  greater.  Behold! 
I  am  as  a  field  of  stubble  that  hath  been  well  reaped  already, 
and  which  has  nothing  left  to  reward  the  labors  of  the  after- 
gleaners." 

"By  the  Powers  of  Evil,  thou  art  right,"  said  one;  "yet  even 
stubble  is  useful  to  burn,  and  thou  shalt  be  set  to  work  for  us 
if  there  is  no  other  use  we  can  put  thee  to.  Who  art  thou, 
and  whence  hast  thou  fled?" 

I  thought  within  myself  that  half  a  truth  is  better  than  a 
whole  lie,  so  I  replied: 

"I  am  a  youth  who  has  struck  his  master,  and  thus  was  I 
obliged  to  fly." 

At  this  they  laughed,  and  one  struck  me  upon  the  back  play- 
fully, yet  somewhat  too  hard  to  be  pleasant,  saying: 

"Hast  thou  done  that?  Then  it  was  well  done,  and  who 
knows  but  that  there  may  be  good  and  useful  stuff  in  thee,  after 
all!  We  will  take  thee  to  our  Chief,  and  he  shall  decide  thy 


40  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

fate."  Saying  which  they  proceeded  to  bind  me  hand  and  foot, 
and  having  mounted  me  upon  a  horse  they  turned  away  from 
the  desert  and  rode  through  the  Hills  for  some  time.  At  last, 
just  as  the  sun  arose,  we  paused  at  the  entrance  to  a  high  rocky 
gorge,  and  as  I  looked  up  to  greet  the  rising  orb  of  day  I  breathed 
an  earnest  prayer  for  deliverance  from  this  new  danger. 

Here  they  bandaged  my  eyes  and  lifted  me  from  the  horse, 
leading  me,  as  I  could  feel,  up  a  steep  pathway  which  wound 
up  and  down  for  some  distance,  and  at  last,  after  much  stumbling 
and  slipping,  owing  to  my  being  unable  to  see  where  I  was  step- 
ping, I  found  myself  upon  level  ground  once  more.  The  band- 
age was  now  taken  from  my  eyes,  and  I  found  myself  on  the 
edge  of  a  very  wide  plateau  high  up  among  the  Hills.  A  great 
many  handsome  tents  were  dotted  about  the  grassy  plain,  and 
many  sheep,  goats,  and  camels  were  quietly  feeding  there,  while 
a  number  of  handsome  horses  were  tethered  before  their  owners' 
tents,  making  altogether  quite  a  gay  and  prosperous  scene. 

As  we  approached  the  largest  and  most  richly  decorated 
tent,  a  young  girl  came  out,  carrying  a  smoking  dish  of  lamb's 
meat  and  freshly  cooked  rice.  She  stopped  to  look  at  us,  and 
especially  favored  me  with  a  glance  from  her  black  eyes,  which 
made  my  heart,  unused  as  I  was  to  the  society  of  women,  beat 
with  great  rapidity.  I  bowed  low  to  the  girl  as  I  returned  her 
look,  and  did  my  best  to  make  my  eyes  express  what  my  lips 
did  not  dare  to  utter.  Whether  by  accident  or  design,  I  do  not 
know,  but  at  this  juncture  her  veil  became  disarranged,  and 
ere  she  had  replaced  it  I  had  obtained  a  very  fair  glimpse  of 
her  face,  with  its  full  red  lips,  plump  chin,  and  pink-tinted  cheeks, 
and  as  she  hastily  gathered  the  veil  together  I  was  ushered  into 
the  presence  of  the  Chief,  a  large,  powerful,  and  decidedly  fat 
and  coarse  looking  man  in  gaudy  raiment,  plundered  no  doubt 
from  some  luckless  caravan. 

To  his  interrogations  as  to  who  I  was,  I  told  the  same  tale 
as  before,  only  suppressing  the  fact  that  my  master  had  been  a 
Priest,  for  I  feared  that  the  superstitious  dread  which  even  these 
wild  lawless  men  felt  for  the  Priesthood  would  render  them 
unwilling  to  shelter  me  if  they  knew  that  I  had  fled  from  a 
Temple.  I  had  resolved  to  throw  myself  upon  the  generosity 
of  the  robbers,  and  to  ask  permission  to  remain  for  a  time  with 
them,  should  I  see  that  there  was  any  fair  prospect  of  my  request 
being  granted.  I  argued  that  since  I  was  myself  an  outlaw  and 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  41 

a  fugitive  I  was  more  likely  to  find  a  safe  asylum  among  men 
who  were  also  outside  the  pale  of  the  law  than   anywhere  else. 

How  matters  might  have  gone  with  me  I  do  not  know,  but 
as  I  was  telling  my  story  the  Chief's  daughter,  who  proved  to 
be  the  girl  I  had  seen  outside,  came  in,  and  having  listened  to 
my  recital  was  so  much  prepossessed  in  my  favor  as  to  interpose 
with  her  father  on  my  behalf,  and  to  such  good  effect  that  I 
was  offered  the  choice  of  being  set  at  liberty  or  of  Joining  the 
band  and  becoming  one  of  these  marauders  myself.  I  need 
hardly  say  that  I  at  once  chose  the  latter  alternative,  as  I  could 
see  I  was  fully  expected  to  do. 

The  idea  of  the  bold  free  life  led  by  these  men  so  fired  my 
imagination,  even  as  the  tender  glances  from  the  dark  eyes  of 
the  Chief's  daughter  had  inflamed  my  heart,  that  I  expressed 
my  desire  to  be  admitted  into  the  band  in  such  happy  language 
as  to  cause  all  the  robbers  to  applaud  my  address,  and  welcome 
me  as  a  worthy  comrade. 

From  this  time  the  star  of  my 'destiny  seemed  rapidly  in  the 
ascendant.  I  was  presented  with  a  handsome  young  horse  and 
a  set  of  arms,  and  invited  to  test  my  prowess  with  those  around 
me.  In  the  mountain  life  of  my  childhood  I  had  learned  to 
ride  and  to  excel  in  all  those  arts  of  horsemanship  practised  by 
the  Hill  tribes,  and  from  the  wandering  soldier  who  had  returned 
to  our  valley  I  had  learned  to  use  my  weapons  as  a  soldier  should: 
thus  I  acquitted  myself  so  well  that  I  won  yet  further  distinction. 

In  very  truth  my  exhilaration  at  finding  myself  once  more 
free,  and  mounted  upon  a  swift  horse  able  to  fly  like  the  wind 
across  the  plains,  would  well  have  helped  me  to  surmount  far 
greater  difficulties  than  any  I  encountered;  while  all  my  natural 
instincts  in  favor  of  war  and  its  arts  awoke  when  I  found  myself 
no  longer  surrounded  by  peaceful  shepherds  or  pious  Priests, 
but  by  those  who  made  warfare  their  trade,  and  robbery  and 
murder  their  profession. 

After  this  I  was  able  not  only  to  hold  my  position  with  these 
robbers,  but  even  to  become  so  popular  a  favorite  that  I  was 
finally  chosen  as  the  husband  of  the  Chief's  daughter  and  succes- 
sor to  the  Chief,  who,  being  rather  old  and  somewhat  lazy, 
and  moreover  having  no  son  to  succeed  him,  desired  some  one 
to  relieve  him  of  the  more  laborious  part  of  his  duties.  Before 
my  advent  the  most  likely  candidate  for  this  honor  was  a  man 
named  Hadji,  and  it  may  readily  be  supposed  that  my  rapid 


42  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

rise  into  favor  was  as  gall  and  wormwood  to  him,  and  that  all 
my  attempts  to  conciliate  him  were  in  vain. 

This  wife  who  was  thus  bestowed  unexpectedly  upon  me 
and  whose  name  was  Dilferib  was  comely,  but  scarcely  as  beau- 
tiful as  I  had  thought  from  the  stray  glimpses  permitted  to  me 
when  she  had  partly  unveiled  her  face,  and  her  beauty,  such  as, 
it  was,  was  but  the  beauty  whose  charm  is  of  youth.  Her  bold 
black  eyes,  her  slim  and  cypress  waist,  her  pink  cheeks  and  long 
black  hair,  were  distinctly  charms  of  Earth  and  not  of  Heaven. 
She  was  a  forward  girl,  and  soon  developed  into  a  coarse  woman. 
Her  mind  was  dull;  her  intellect  limited;  her  instincts  petty  and 
selfish;  while  her  temper  was  decidedly  waspish.  Her  strongest 
characteristics  were  a  love  of  dress  and  gossip.  Her  sentiment 
for  me  had  been  a  passing  fancy  for  a  handsome  youth  different 
from  those  around  her,  and  she  soon  wearied  of  me,  as  I  did  of 
her.  She  was  utterly  incapable  of  entering  into  any  of  my  flights 
of  fancy,  or  understanding  the  poetic  glamour  I  sought  to  throw 
around  my  ideal  of  true  love.  She  cared  for  me  only  so  long 
as  I  fed  her  vanity  with  words  of  flattery,  and  her  love  of  finery 
with  handsome  clothes.  Very  soon  I  wearied  of  her  vulgar 
blandishments,  while  her  want  of  refinement  jarred  upon  me 
at  every  turn,  and  her  charms  palled  upon  my  fastidious 
taste. 

Then,  too,  I  grew  tired  of  the  paltry  distinction  of  being  a 
leader  of  a  petty  mountain  tribe  of  ignoble  marauders,  thievers 
of  other  men's  goods.  The  constant  intriguing  of  Hadji  filled 
me  with  anger  and  contempt,  and  when  my  wife  proceeded  to 
say  that  she  questioned  whether,  after  all,  Hadji  were  not  the 
better  man  of  the  two,  and  that  she  feared  she  had  made  a  mis- 
take in  selecting  me,  I  resolved  to  give  her  an  early  opportunity 
of  trying  him  as  my  successor. 

The  Hills  around  me  seemed  to  shut  me  in  and  stifle  me, 
and  I  longed  to  go  forth  into  the  wide  world  once  more  and 
measure  myself  with  other  men,  even  with  the  great  ones  of  the 
Earth,  that  I  might  find  where  my  true  position  was  amidst  the 
bustle  of  an  active  life,  larger  and  broader  in  its  interests  than 
any  I  had  yet  known. 

I  question  whether  at  this  time  the  sovereignty  of  the  whole 
Earth  would  have  satisfied  the  cravings  of  that  boundless  ambi- 
tion which  was  awake  within  me,  and  I  know  the  limits  of  the 
known  Universe  would  not  have  been  wide  enough  to  limit  my 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  43 

incessant  thirst  for  greater  knowledge  of  every  kind,  especially 
for  a  knowledge  of  that  unseen  world  of  which  I  had  beheld 
such  wondrous  glimpses,  and  whose  mysteries  I  longed  the  more 
intensely  each  day  to  explore.  - 

For  two  years  I  lived  amongst  these  mountain  robbers,  and 
during  that  time  no  signs  of  pursuit  had  reached  me,  so  that 
from  the  Priests  of  Amurath  I  now  felt  comparatively  safe.  My 
beard  had  grown  full  and  thick,  and  with  my  change  of  dress  so 
altered  my  appearance  that  I  scarcely  feared  recognition. 

I  therefore  resolved  to  take  the  first  chance  of  leaving  my 
present  life,  feeling  very  certain  that  my  wife  would  soon  con- 
sole herself  for  my  disappearance  'by  wedding  the  artful  Hadji, 
whom  I  wished  all  joy  of  his  acquisition! 

My  opportunity  soon  came.  We  wrere  sent  to  intercept  a 
rich  convoy  of  merchandise,  sent  from  Bokhara  to  Teheran,  to 
the  King.  We  did  not,  however,  win  the  easy  victory  we 
expected,  for  the  King  had  armed  his  servants  well,  and  sent, 
moreover,  some  soldiers  to  protect  his  goods,  so  that  after  a 
sharp  fight  some  of  our  band  were  killed  and  the  rest  took  refuge 
in  rapid  flight,  myself  being  one  of  the  first  to  quit  the  field  as 
soon  as  the  melee  had  fairly  begun. 

Once  free  from  the  hilly  ground  I  gave  my  horse  free  rein, 
and  was  soon  galloping  swiftly  across  the  wide  sandy  plain. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  TWO  WAYS 

Soon  after  midnight  a  silvery  crescent  moon  rose  in  the  sky, 
and  by  its  light  and  that  of  the  silver  stars  I  rode  on,  till  moon 
and  stars  began  to  pale  and  the  grey  dawn  of  another  day 
appeared. 

All  around  me  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  there  lay  nothing 
but  this  wild  wilderness  of  sand,  rolling  in  undulating  billows 
like  waves  upon  the  sea,  while  in  the  dim  distance  the  Hills 
which  I  had  left  far  behind  lay  like  faint  blue  specks  on  the 
horizon. 


44  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

I  rode  onward  for  some  time,  till  as  the  scorching  rays  of  the 
rapidly  rising  sun  rendered  further  progress  almost  impossible,  I 
drew  near  to  a  small  clump  of  date  trees,  beneath  whose  scanty 
shade  my  horse  and  I  lay  down  together  to  rest. 

When  I  awoke  the  sun  had  already  set,  and  the  grey  shadows 
of  approaching  night  were  gathering  fast  over  the  desert,  for  so 
far  South  was  I  there  was  but  little  twilight. 

To  me  the  evening  hour  has  always  been  a  time  when  a 
sense  of  mystery  and  awe  steals  over  the  Soul,  and  fills  it  with 
the  subtle  suggestion  of  strange  and  unknown  things,  whose 
shapeless  forms,  hovering  in  the  air,  unseen  yet  not  unfelt,  are 
akin  and  yet  different  to  ourselves. 

As  I  led  my  horse  from  beneath  the  trees  I  beheld  before  me 
two  paths,  stretching  across  the  desert,  where  path  there  was 
none:  the  one  bright  and  shining  as  though  paved  with  snow- 
white  stones  led  to  the  Westward,  as  though  to  follow  the  track 
of  the  setting  sun.  The  other  path  stretched  towards  the  South, 
and  its  outline  was  dim,  misty,  and  dark. 

At  the  parting  of  the  ways  stood  two  figures,  like  unto  Angels 
with  wings:  the  Spirits  of  the  Light  and  Dark  Spheres. 

The  one  who  stood  upon  the  shining  path  was  like  a  fair 
young  man,  his  robes  white  and  sparkling  as  with  silver  stars. 
All  was  fair  and  open  to  behold.  The  way  seemed  easy,  and  it 
led  to  lands  of  glorious  silver  light  on  the  far  horizon. 

The  other  Spirit  was  dim,  indistinct,  and  shrouded  with  a 
sombre  veil.  His  face  was  half  averted,  and  with  one  hand  he 
drew  his  mantle  over  it,  while  with  the  other  he  beckoned  to 
me.  This  figure  seemed  to  express  to  me,  Power,  Majesty,  the 
successful  pursuit  of  forbidden  knowledge,  the  satisfaction  of 
ambition,  the  glowing  passion  of  gratified  desires.  His  shadowy 
half  averted  face  drew  me  to  him  with  an  intense  longing  to 
rush  forward  and  uncover  that  shrouded  countenance,  that  I 
might  gaze  upon  the  mysteries,  be  they  beautiful  or  horrible, 
blessed  or  accursed,  which  he  thus  hid  from  me.  And  as  I 
involuntarily  took  a  step  forward  towards  him  my  choice  seemed 
made — the  figures  vanished,  and  to  the  South  I  resolved  that 
I  would  go. 

It  was  as  though  the  good  and  evil  influences  of  my  life  had 
contended  with  each  other  for  dominion  over  my  Soul,  and  for 
the  time  the  Evil  had  won.  Many  times  as  I  rode  Southward 
was  I  tempted  to  turn  back,  but  as  often  did  I  put  the  thought 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  45 

away  from  me  and  ride  on.  For  good  or  for  ill  I  was  fated  to 
taste  of  that  knowledge  whose  mysteries  the  Angel  of  Darkness 
had  half  revealed  and  half  hidden  from  my  sight. 


CHAPTER  VII 

JELAL-UD-DfN  THE  SORCERER 

For  four  nights  I  rode  on,  resting  always  during  the  heat  of 
the  day,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  fifth  day  I  beheld  the  towers 
and  walls  of  a  large  city  rising  in  the  far  distance.  I  was  so 
overjoyed  at  this  that  I  spread  out  my  arms  and  bowed  low  upon 
my  horse's  neck  in  a  salutation  of  welcome  to  it,  and  hurrying 
on  my  wearied  steed  I  was  able  to  reach  it  ere  mid-day. 

I  had  never  been  in  a  city  before;  I  had  seen  nothing  larger 
than  a  mountain  village;  for  although  in  my  journey  to  the 
Temple  of  Amurath  from  the  Caucasian  mountains  I  had  passed 
near  the  royal  city  of  Teheran,  the  Priests  in  whose  charge  I 
travelled  had  not  permitted  me  to  enter  the  walls. 

As  soon,  therefore,  as  I  had  enjoyed  a  short  rest  and  attended 
to  the  welfare  of  my  horse  I  sallied  forth  to  explore  the  wonders 
of  the  place,  and  after  wandering  for  some  hours  through  the 
narrow  streets  I  found  myself  at  sunset  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
city,  and  in  front  of  the  Temple,  which  stood  upon  a  slight 
eminence  and  was  approached  by  a  long  flight  of  handsome 
steps.  I  ascended  these  that  I  might  gain  a  last  glimpse  of  the 
sinking  sun,  but  I  did  not  venture  to  enter  the  doors,  fearing 
lest  I  might  be  recognised,  and  also  because  I  had  an  uneasy 
half  belief  that  were  I,  an  apostate  who  had  laid  violent  hands 
upon  an  annointed  servant  of  the  Gods,  to  venture  within  the 
sacred  precincts,  some  terrible  vengeance  of  the  offended  Deity 
would  be  visited  upon  me.  I  therefore  hurried  down  the  steps 
again  without  delaying  to  take  more  than  one  look  at  the  sun, 
and  was  crossing  the  open  ground  with  head  bent  down  when 
the  shadow  of  a  man  fell  across  the  path  before  me,  and  a  voice 
saluted  me  in  very  good  Pehlvi  but  with  the  accent  of  a  stran- 
ger. 


46  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

Somewhat  startled,  I  looked  up,  and  beheld  a  man  of  about 
forty  who  wras  utterly  unknown  to  me,  and  whose  countenance 
repelled  even  while  it  attracted  me.  He  was  dressed  in  a  robe 
of  very  dark  silk,  bordered  with  red  and  yellow  stripes.  On  his 
head  he  wore  a  close  fitting  white  cap,  with  long  lappets  hanging 
to  the  shoulders  stripped  with  narrow  bands  of  black;  a  narrow 
band  of  black  passed  round  the  head,  and  on  the  top  there  was 
a  crescent  shaped  ornament  of  gold,  with  a  spike  rising  from  the 
middle,  and  having  a  curious  resemblance  to  three  horns.  In 
his  hand  he  carried  a  long  black  wand,  tipped  with  gold.  His 
complexion  was  almost  black,  and  his  large  brilliant  black  eyes 
seemed  to  glow  with  a  sombre  fire  that  had  no  softness  in  their 
depths.  His  lips  were  full,  his  features  high  and  of  the  Assyrian 
type,  while  a  long  straight  black  beard  covered  and  concealed 
his  cheeks  and  chin.  As  I  regarded  him  with  some  surprise 
and  uneasiness  he  spoke  again,  saying: 

"Nay,  start  not,  nor  question  whether  I  mean  harm  to  thee. 
I  come  rather  to  befriend,  and  to  offer  thee  a  home  in  this  strange 
city,  if  thou  dost  care  to  listen  to  a  proposal  I  would  make  for 
thy  benefit  and  mine  own.  Marvel  not  that  I  sought  thee  out, 
for,  behold !  I  can  read  thy  future,  even  as  I  have  read  in  part 
thy  past.  The  Book  of  Destiny  is  an  open  page  before  mine 
eyes,  and  in  it  I  perceive  that  thou  shalt  some  day  sit  upon  an 
Emperor's  throne,  even  as  thou  wearest  now  an  Emperor's 
chain  around  thy  neck — yea,  do  I  also  see  that  two  of  its  links 
are  missing,  skillfully  as  thou  hast  joined  them  again.  The 
broken  chain  is,  methinks,  an  ill  omen  of  thy  success,  but  I  cannot 
behold  thine  end  as  yet." 

Involuntarily  I  put  my  hand  to  my  bosom  to  feel  for  the 
chain,  which  I  wore  most  carefully  concealed  there,  but  no  part 
of  it  was  visible,  and  I  was  but  the  more  startled  by  the  man's 
knowledge  of  it,  and  I  said : 

"What  is  it  to  thee,  O  Stranger,  whose  gold  I  wear?  Why 
art  thou  concerned  with  the  business  of  another?" 

He  gave  a  low  sardonic  laugh  that  had  no  mirth  in  it,  as  he 
replied : 

"Because  the  Star  of  thy  Destiny  hath  crossed  the  path  of 
mine,  and  I  know  that  we  are  fated  to  learn  much  more  of  each 
other.  Because,  also,  I  see  that  thou  dost  possess  the  gift  of 
Divination,  and  powers  which  are  of  inestimable  value  to  those 
who  know  how  to  use  them.  I  would  enroll  thee  in  my  service, 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  47 

and  train  thy  gifts  that  they  may  be  of  use  to  thee  and  me.  Thou 
hast  a  thirst  for  knowlege:  Behold!  I  can  give  thee  knowledge 
beyond  aught  that  thou  canst  dream  of  now.  I  can  reveal  to 
thine  eyes  mysteries  that  have  been  hid  from  all  but  the  most 
favored  few,  and  I  can  guide  thy  steps  upon  the  dark  pathways 
of  the  nether  world,  whereon  only  such  bold  spirits  as  thou  and 
I  would  dare  to  tread.  All  these  things  can  I  show  to  thee  and 
in  return  I  ask  that  for  a  season  thou  shalt  serve  me,  to  learn  a 
secret  which  concerns  me  much." 

"And  who  art  thou  who  makest  such  boundless  promises? 
How  shall  I  know  that  thou  hast  these  powers  which  thou  dost 
claim?" 

"I  am  Jelalud-din,"  said  he,  haughtily.  "Some  men  call  me 
the  Sorcerer,  others  the  Good  Doctor,  others  again  the  Caster 
of  Magic  Spells.  There  are  none  within  this  city  who  would 
dare  to  doubt  my  power.  I  have  long  sought  for  one  with  gifts 
like  unto  thine,  and  lo!  when  I  beheld  thee  upon  the  Temple 
steps  I  came  out  to  meet  thee." 

''Nay,"  answered  I,  impressed  in  spite  of  myself  by  his 
words;  "Nay,  but  I  see  no  visions  now."  For  in  truth  I  had 
seen  none  since  my  flight  from  the  Temple. 

"Hadst  thou  no  vision  when  thou  wert  under  the  date  trees?" 
said  Jelalud-din,  slowly  fixing  his  dark  eyes  upon  my  face.  "If 
thou  sawest  no  vision  why,  then,  didst  thou  choose  the  South- 
ward path?" 

"Now  I  know  that  thou  art  in  very  truth  a  Sorcerer,"  cried  I, 
"for  I  was  alone  upon  the  desert;  no  eyes  beheld  that  vision 
but  mine  own;  where  then  wert  thou?" 

"In  mine  own  chamber,  gazing  upon  thy  Star,  and  upon 
mine  own  For  thy  strange  Star  drew  near  unto  mine  and  then 
receded,  and  I  put  forth  my  will  to  draw  thee  unto  me,  for  I 
knew  that  the  hour  of  our  meeting  was  at  hand." 

Jelalud-din  paused,  and  turning  from  me  began  to  trace  a 
figure  on  the  ground  with  the  point  of  his  wand,  while  I, 
startled,  bewildered,  uncertain  what  to  do,  stood  silently  watch- 
ing him.  His  words  had  awakened  in  me  a  most  keen  desire 
to  know  more  of  so  extraordinary  a  man.  The  danger  which  I 
instinctively  felt  lurked  in  such  knowledge  as  he  possessed  only 
made  me  the  more  eager  to  penetrate  the  mysteries  of  these 
unhallowed  powers.  I  had  heard  of  men  who  practised  for- 
bidden arts,  and  possessed  powers  transcending  in  many  respects 


48  THE  STORY  OF  AHRNIZIMAN 

those  of  even  the  most  favored  Prophets  of  the  Oracles  them- 
selves, and  my  bold  thoughts  had  many  a  time  strayed  longingly 
upon  the  forbidden  path,  for  I  desired  with  all  my  Soul  to  raise 
even  a  corner  of  the  dark  veil  which  hid  the  knowledge  of  these 
dangerous  things. 

And  Jelalud-din  looked  up  at  me  and  said:  "It  is  because 
thou  thinkest  such  knowledge  as  mine  is  of  the  powers  of  evil 
that  thou  dost  hesitate  to  answer  me.  Yet  are  not  all  things 
which  are  mysterious  called  by  the  unlearned  'evil'?  Is  it  not 
ignorance  which  is  the  true  evil,  and  cannot  those  who  know 
how  to  do  so  pluck  even  from  the  poison  flowers  their  sting, 
leaving  behind  only  the  harmless  blossoms?  Join  me  if  thou  art 
willing  for  a  time,  but  I  seek  in  no  way  to  tie  thee.  I  am  no 
Priest,  to  fear  lest  thou  shouldst  steal  the  secrets  of  a  Temple, 
or  tell  to  the  World  how  full  of  frailty  are  these  vaunted  teachers 
of  other  men!" 

He  spoke  in  mingled  accents  of  scorn  and  passion,  and  his 
eyes  glowed  with  a  fierce  fire  of  hatred  when  he  mentioned  the 
Temple.  After  a  brief  pause  he  added: 

"Thou  hast  shown  thyself  bold  in  the  things  which  are  of 
Earth,  be  then  as  bold  to  search  out  the  secrets  wliich  are  not 
of  Earth.  Yet  I  will  urge  thee  no  more,  for  I  have  fulfilled 
my  part  in  seeking  speech  with  thee,  and  if  thou  art  to  join  me 
then  must  thou  seek  me  for  thyself. " 

"Where  shall  I  find  thee,"'  said  I,  "if  I  desire  to  join  thee 
when  I  have  thought  over  all  that  thou  hast  said?" 

"Thou  shalt  find  me  in  mine  own  house:  all  men  know  which 
is  the  house  of  Jelalud-din.  But  if  thou  seekest  me  it  must  be 
when  the  stars  have  climbed  the  sky,  and  night's  dark  mantle 
doth  enshroud  the  Earth." 

I  assented  to  this,  and  bowing  low  to  each  other  we  parted, 
but  ere  Jelalud-din  turned  away  I  saw  that  with  his  sandalled 
foot  he  rubbed  out  carefully  the  signs  he  had  been  tracing  on 
the  ground. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  49 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SHADOWS  OF    THE  FUTURE 

It  was  shortly  before  midnight  when  I  sought  the  house  of 
Jelalud-din.  It  had  readily  been  pointed  out  to  me  in  the  evening, 
but  I  found  that  no  one  was  anxious  to  tell  me  much  about  its 
owner.  All  men  seemed  to  fear  if  not  to  dislike  him,  and  while 
they  told  me  he  was  wealthy  and  learned  they  forebore,  with 
the  caution  of  Orientals,  to  express  any  opinion  as  to  his  moral 
character,  and  I  could  perceive  that  my  inquiries  for  him  had 
caused  me  to  be  regarded  with  suspicion. 

Jelalud  din's  dwelling  was  a  large  low  stone  building,  with 
one  lofty  tower  rising  from  the  middle,  and  affording  a  mag- 
nificent view  of  the  stars  by  night  and  of  the  flat,  slightly  undu- 
lating country  by  day.  It  was  situated  in  a  retired  part  of  the 
city,  close  to  one  of  the  outer  walls,  and  was  surrounded  by  a 
large  uncultivated  garden  enclosed  by  very  high  walls,  all  these 
circumstances  tending  to  add  to  its  seclusion  and  to  the  mystery 
enveloping  the  character  of  its  owner. 

My  summons  at  the  gate  was  answered  by  a  Nubian  slave, 
who  was  indeed  the  Sorcerer's  sole  attendant,  and  I  was  con- 
ducted through  the  wilderness  of  a  garden  to  a  small  door  in  a 
side  wall  near  the  tower.  Here  I  was  left  while  the  slave 
announced  me  to  his  master.  In  a  little  he  returned,  and  I  was 
shown  through  a  narrow  passage  to  an  ante-room,  and  then 
into  a  large  oblong  apartment  where  Jelalud-din  awaited  me. 

The  room  betokened  the  character  of  its  inmate,  for  instead 
of  the  rich  hangings  and  luxurious  cushions  and  soft  carpets  of 
a  Persian  house  of  that  class,  its  walls  were  covered  by  strange 
objects  of  all  kinds.  The  skulls  and  bones  of  animals  and 
men;  the  dried  bodies  and  skins  of  reptiles;  huge  vampire  bats, 
and  strange  beasts.  Bundles  of  dried  herbs  and  gigantic  trop- 
ical plants  and  grasses  hung  on  the  walls,  intermixed  with  long 
rows  of  shelves  holding  every  variety  of  earthen  jars,  crucibles, 
and  retorts,  and  huge  vessels  of  rough  metal  containing  various 


50  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

chemical  and  strangely  perfumed  mixtures,  with  lumps  of  rock, 
and  specimens  of  various  earths  and  stones,  and  crystals  in  the 
rough  state,  and  the  plumage  of  rare  birds,  all  grouped  together 
in  strange  confusion.  Another  wall  was  covered  by  little  shelves 
holding  rolls  of  parchment,  carefully  tied;  and  near  these  hung 
a  curious  looking  dress  of  filmy  black  gauze,  spangled  with 
small  stars  and  queer  hieroglyphics  in  gold  thread,  worked  upon 
it  by  the  deft  hands  of  some  embroideress.  Beside  this  dress 
were  two  wands  crossed,  one  tipped  writh  gold  and  having  a 
golden  star  on  the  top,  and  the  other  tipped  with  silver,  and 
having  a  crescent  intertwined  with  a  triangle  surmounting  it. 
A  couple  of  tiger  skins  were  spread  upon  the  floor  before  a  large 
tripod,  upon  which  some  sweet-scented  powder  was  burning. 
Dark'  curtains  of  heavy  silk  hung  before  the  doors  and  window, 
and  in  one  corner  of  the  room  a  low  archway  seemed  to  lead  to 
a  narrow  stair  giving  access  to  the  tower.  In  one  corner  a- small 
lamp  was  suspended,  throwing  a  feeble  glimmer  of  light  across 
the  room,  and  beside  the  lamp,  seated  upon  a  pile  of  cushions, 
was  Jelal-ud-din  himself. 

As  the  slave  retired  the  Sorcerer  arose  and  saluted  me,  saying 
to  me  in  the  Assyrian  language,  which  my  friend  Abubatha 
taught  me  to  understand,  "I  bid  you  welcome,"  and  signing 
me  to  seat  myself  upon  another  pile  of  cushions  beside  his  own 
he  produced  a  jar  of  rare  wine  and  some  costly  sweetmeats 
and  invited  me  to  partake  of  his  hospitality,  adding  that  "when 
we  had  broken  bread  together  I  would  no  longer,  he  felt  sure, 
distrust  him."  He  also  suggested  that  for  the  future  we  should 
converse  in  the  Assyrian  tongue,  since  I  understood  it,  in  order 
that  no  chance  eavesdropper  should  be  able  to  overhear  our 
remarks.  "For,"  said  he,  "even  in  the  house  of  Jelal-ud-din 
the  walls  have  ears,  and  I  perceive  through  yonder  wall  that 
my  slave  Taki  is  even  now  striving  to  learn  the  purpose  with 
which  thou  hast  sought  me,  and  it  were  well  to  use  a  language 
he  doth  not  understand,  since  in  this  world  one  half  of  mankind 
is  ever  more  intent  upon  attending  to  the  affairs  of  their  neigh- 
bors than  looking  well  after  their  own,  and  he  who  would  differ 
in  his  habits  from  those  around  him  must  expect  to  be  surrounded 
by  spies,  and  they  who  will  speak  evil  of  him  are  many.  Were 
I  to  go  forth  now  I  should  find  Taki  far  from  the  door,  and  yet 
do  I  see  that  he  is  even  now  upon  his  knees  before  it,  straining 
every  nerve  to  hear  us.  Taki  is  but  a  wretched  slave,  a  dog 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  51 

whom  I  might  slay  to-morrow;  yet  hath  not  even  the  infinitesimal 
sandfly  power  to  poison  with  its  sting,  although  thou  mayest 
kill  it  the  next  instant?  and  such  as  Taki  spread  abroad  through- 
out the  streets  the  things  done  in  secret  within  the  chamber. 
Let  us  then  converse  in  the  Assyrian  tongue,  since  it  is  mine  own 
language  and  thou  also  dost  understand  it." 

He  then  took  the  jar  of  wine  and  filled  a  cup  which  was 
carved  in  a  most  beautiful  manner  from  the  pure  rock  crystal, 
and  set  round  with  gems  whose  priceless  value  my  experience 
with  the  robbers  enabled  me  to  know.  Having  first  put  this 
to  his  own  lips  he  handed  it  to  me,  doing  the  same  in  like  manner 
with  the  cakes  and  sweetmeats,  to  show  in  how  high  esteem 
and  honor  he  held  me. 

Having  finished  this  repast  Jelal-ud-din  arose,  and  taking 
the  lamp  he  searched  carefully  the  outer  room,  and  fastened 
the  door,  doing  the  same  with  the  one  in  the  inner  chamber 
where  we  sat.  He  then  placed  the  lamp  behind  a  screen  where 
its  light  was  scarcely  visible,  and  returned  to  me,  carrying  in  his 
hand  a  small  round  disc  of  polished  black  marble,  whose  surface 
reflected  like  a  mirror.  Across  this  he  passed  his  hands  several 
times,  and  placing  it  within  a  curiously  wrought  frame  of  gold, 
whereon  were  engraved  numerous  cabalistic  signs,  he  gave  it 
into  my  hands,  saying:  "Look  now  into  this  mirror,  and  say 
whether  Jelal-ud-din  hath  restored  thy  powers  of  vision  unto 
thee." 

I  took  the  black  disc  and  held  it  between  my  hands,  fixing 
my  eyes  upon  it  as  I  had  been  wont  to  do  in  the  Temple  with 
the  crystals  given  me  by  the  Priests,  and  as  I  did  so  a  grey  mist, 
like  smoke,  passed  over  the  dark  polished  surface;  a  violent 
trembling  seized  my  limbs,  and  a  wind  as  of  ice  blew  over  me 
and  seemed  to  freeze  my  blood,  and  stop  for  a  moment  the  beat- 
ing of  my  heart. 

As  these  feelings  passed  the  face  of  the  black  mirror  became 
clear,  and  I  beheld  a  face — a  man's  face.  Oh!  Powers  of  evil! 
can  any  mere  words  describe  that  face,  or  paint  at  once  its  ma- 
jestic beauty  and  its  awful  fiendlike  expression?  The  eyes 
were  fixed  upon  mine  own,  and  as  I  gazed  steadily  upon  them 
they  looked  back  an  answer  to  my  questioning  thoughts.  The 
face  varied  in  its  expression,  and  the  lips  moved,  though  no 
no  sound  came  from  them,  and  I  seemed  to  sense,  rather  than 
hear,  each  word  as  it  was  spoken.  It  appeared  to  say: 


52  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

"You  ask  who  am  I?  Behold!  I  am  the  Angel  of  Dark- 
ness whom  thou  didst  see  upon  the  desert  plain.  No  veil  hides 
now  my  face,  and  since  thou  canst  thus  steadily  return  my  gaze 
I  know  that  thou  hast  courage  to  behold  the  wonders  of  my 
sphere:  wonders  which  my  servant  Jelal-ud-din  shall  reveal 
unto  thee." 

The  lips  ceased  to  move,  the  eyes  closed,  the  dark  filmy  veil 
covered  again  the  face  which  faded  slowly  away,  leaving  the 
black  surface  of  the  mirror  clear  again. 

I  could  not  move  a  limb.  I  could  make  no  motion  even 
with  my  eyes,  which  were  fixed  in  a  stony  stare  upon  the  mirror, 
even  as  I  myself  was  fixed  like  a  rigid  statue  to  the  spot  whereon 
I  stood. 

Again  the  mist  passed  over  the  dark  mirror,  and  this  time 
it  showed  to  me  a  woman's  face,  beautiful  as  the  dawn!  lovely 
as  some  fallen  Peri  of  Paradise!  I  say  'as  of  some  fallen  Peri,' 
for  she  bore  upon  her  brow  that  Blood  Red  Star  which  is  the 
symbol  of  the  fallen  Angels,  and  amidst  her  dark  hair  the  Star 
of  Darkness  gleamed  as  a  jewel  in  a  diadem.  Her  glorious 
eyes  were  veiled  by  long  dark  lashes,  yet  their  gleam  of  passion- 
ate love  transfixed  my  own  as  the  magnetic  glance  of  a  snake 
doth  fascinate  a  bird.  Her  coral  lips  were  wreathed  in  smiles, 
yet  were  they  as  the  smiles  of  one  who  can  entrance  but  never 
charm,  and  her  expression  was  that  of  a  refined  and  subtle  sensu- 
ality, as  evil  as  ever  marked  the  looks  of  the  most  ensnaring 
syren  of  the  lowest  Hell.  Her  features  were  perfect  in  all  their 
proportions,  delicately  chiselled  as  a  statue  of  purest  alabaster, 
and  lovely  as  the  spirit  of  a  dream.  But  over  all  there  hung 
the  same  stamp  of  subtly  suggested  evil,  lurking  one  knew  not 
where,  yet  marring  to  the  eyes  of  the  Spirit  the  beauty  which 
charmed  the  senses. 

As  I  continued  to  gaze  her  face  seemed  to  cease  to  smile; 
it  leered  at  me,  and  her  fairness  was  like  a  mask  that  hid  the 
treacherous  nature  of  the  Soul.  But  in  spite  of  this  my  heart  was 
stirred  with  the  most  violent  passion,  the  most  intense  desire  to 
possess  her,  which  was  as  far  as  the  wide  poles  are  asunder  from 
that  pure  and  beautiful  ideal  of  love  which  I  had  hitherto  cherished 
and  which  Dilferib  had  so  utterly  failed  to  satisfy.  And  while  I 
looked  upon  this  woman  I  knew  that  she  was  no  mere  vision,  nor 
even  a  disembodied  spirit  that  I  beheld,  but  a  living,  breathing 
inhabitant  of  Earth,  whose  life  would  yet  be  linked  unto  my  own, 
for  that  in  the  Book  of  our  Destinies  so  it  was  even  written. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  53 

My  intense  desire  to  touch  this  woman  caused  me  to  lift  my 
hand,  when  lo!  the  spell  which  held  me  was  broken  and  all  van- 
ished from  my  sight. 

The  low  mocking  laugh  of  Jelal-ud-din  broke  upon  my  ear 
and  as  I  turned  almost  fiercely  upon  him  in  my  disappointment, 
he  said  in  a  tone  of  great  bitterness,  and  with  the  slow  measured 
speech  as  of  one  in  a  dream : 

"Yea,  even  so  it  is  with  thee.  The  charm  of  love  is  still  the 
potent  spell;  thou  hast  not  tasted  yet  of  its  hollowness.  Thou 
hast  not  learned  how  the  fires  of  passion  can  sear  and  wither  up 
the  heart,  till  naught  but  its  empty  shell  is  left.  Take  up  the 
mirror  once  again,  and  I  will  show  thee  other  things  more  worthy 
man's  ambition." 

Mechanically  I  turned  to  look  at  the  black  disc  again,  and  once 
more  the  smoke-like  mist  passed  across  its  surface  and  the  cold 
breeze  chilled  my  blood  and  stopped  the  beating  of  my  heart. 
But  the  feelings  were  fainter,  and  the  pictures  more  dim  and  indis- 
tinct, not  clear  as  before,  for  I  had  broken  the  threads  of  com- 
munication between  myself  and  the  Other  World,  and  the  visions 
were  marred  by  the  hasty  joining  of  the  links. 

As  pictures  traced  in  smoke  I  first  saw  a  man  seated  upon  a 
winged  horse,  with  a  winged  helmet  upon  his  head  and  a  spear 
held  out  before  him,  as  though  he  charged  upon  a  foe.  I  saw  him 
fall  from  his  horse  and  lie  trampled  in  the  dust,  while  a  whole  legion 
of  warriors  appeared  to  ride  over  his  prostrate  body.  Then  I  saw 
the  man  and  horse  arise  and  spread  their  wings,  and  soar  away 
beyond  the  power  of  my  sight  to  follow. 

I  saw  a  woman  draped  all  in  sombre  black  lie  writhing  upon 
the  ground  in  mortal  agony,  yet  not  able  to  die.  I  saw  her  drag 
herself  along  the  ground  of  what  seemed  a  narrow  passage  like  a 
tomb,  and  tear  with  her  finger  nails  at  the  hard  walls,  and  dig  like 
a  wild  beast  at  the  hard  ground,  in  frantic  efforts  to  get  out,  till  I 
could  bear  the  sight  no  longer;  and  then  she  vanished. 

I  saw  a  man  lie  dying  on  a  bed,  surrounded  by  many  courtiers, 
and  many  slaves,  yet  calling  always  for  some  one  who  came  not 
unto  him. 

I  saw  this  picture  give  place  unto  another,  wherein  there  was 
a  throne,  and  three  figures  contended  for  it.  First  one  sat  thereon 
then  seemed  to  fall  from  it  and  lie  writhing  on  the  ground  in  the 
fearful  agony  of  violent  death.  Then  the  second  figure  ascended 
the  steps  of  the  throne,  but  ere  he  could  seat  himself  I  saw  him 


54  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

stagger  and  cast  his  arms  up  as  though  fighting  many  foes,  ere  he 
fell  dead  beside  the  throne.  Then  I  saw  the  third  man  cast  him- 
self in  the  Royal  Chair,  and  a  curtain  fell  between  him  and  myself. 

Next  I  saw  a  procession  of  veiled  figures  pass  me,  all  turning 
away  their  heads  as  they  drew  near,  till  one  woman  came,  and 
raised  her  veil,  and  I  beheld  the  face  of  a  woman  of  exceeding 
beauty;  the  beauty  of  the  late  summer  of  life,  the  mature  charms 
of  one  past  youth  yet  handsome  still.  But  the  face,  though  hand- 
some, was  cruel,  and  her  glance  seemed  to  wither  my  heart  and 
turn  my  blood  to  ice.  She  gave  me  a  mocking  triumphant  smile 
of  vindictive  hate  ere  she  let  fall  her  veil  and  passed  on. 

And  last  of  all  I  saw  a  black  figure  crawl  like  a  snake  along  the 
ground  toward  me,  and  as  I  gazed  it  seemed  to  spit  out  its  venom 
at  me,  and  show  me  the  face  of  a  black  slave,  quite  unknown  to 
me,  as  were  all  the  figures  in  my  visions. 

This  last  picture  vanished.  I  raised  my  eyes  from  the  mirror, 
and  Behold!  the  room  was  full  of  misty  forms,  human  and  yet 
inhuman  in  their  shapes;  dim  as  smoke  wreaths,  yet  none  the  less 
distinct  and  palpable  to  my  sight.  They  floated  round  Jelal-ud- 
din  and  myself,  yet  they  touched  us  not,  nor  came  within  the  circle 
around  us.  In  Jelal-ud -din's  hand  he  held  the  mystic  wand, 
tipped  with  the  triangle  and  the  crescent,  which  he  extended  at 
arm's  length  to  keep  them  back,  uttering  some  words  in  a  tone  of 
command  in  a  strange  unknown  tongue.  And  as  he  waved  them 
away  they  receded  from  us,  and  vanished  like  a  cloud  of  dark  mist, 
till  jelal-ud-din  and  I  stood  there  alone. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MY  EVIL  GENIUS 

The  day  was  breaking  as  I  left  the  house  of  Jelal-ud-din  and 
the  contrast  between  the  clear  light  shed  around  by  the  rapidly 
rising  sun,  and  the  dark  mysterious  room  which  I  had  left,  was 
like  that  between  Good  and  Evil.  Yet  even  as  I  saluted  the  orb  of 
day,  true  symbol  of  Purity  and  Life,  I  did  not  waver  in  my  deter- 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  55 

mination  to  accept  the  offer  which  the  Sorcerer  had  made  me.  I 
had  opened  the  Book  of  Forbidden  Mysteries  and  looked  within, 
and  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  close  it  again  till  I  had  learned  the 
knowledge  contained  within  its  pages.  The  very  dangers  in- 
volved in  its  pursuit  gave  to  it  only  an  added  zest  to  my  adventurous 
spirit.  For  what  bold  explorer  of  unknown  paths  was  ever  yet 
deterred  from  following  them  out  by  a  knowledge  of  the  treacher- 
ous nature  of  the  ground  he  sought  to  traverse?  Everyone  be- 
lieves that  in  some  fashion  Luck  will  especially  befriend  him,  and 
that  where  others  have  met  destruction  he  will  yet  be  safe. 

It  is  of  the  very  nature  of  such  studies  as  Jelal-ud-din  was 
engaged  upon  that  their  fascinations  once  felt  cannot  again  be 
shaken  off.  I  accepted  the  Sorcerer's  proposals  the  more  readily 
because  he,  reading  aright  my  haughty,  impetuous  temper  ever 
impatient  of  control,  sought  to  impose  no  open  restrictions  upon 
my  perfect  freedom  of  life.  He  invited  me  to  join  him  as  an 
equal,  a  friend  and  a  pupil,  and  allowed  me  to  cheat  myself  with 
the  belief  that  therefore  neither  my  mind  nor  my  body  would  be 
subject  to  him  in  any  way.  And  yet,  had  I  not  been  already 
blinded  by  the  strong  magnetic  attraction  exercised  by  this  man, 
and  dominated  by  his  masterful  intelligence,  I  should  have  real- 
ized how  powerful  was  the  spell  he  had  cast  over  me,  and  how 
completely  his  will  had  subordinated  mine,  so  that,  to  all  appear- 
ance free,  I  was  in  truth  his  slave  already. 

I  brought  my  horse  with  me  to  Jelal-ud-din's  house,  and  suf- 
fered no  one  but  myself  to  attend  to  the  faithful  animal,  no  other 
hand  but  my  own  to  touch  it.  And  many  were  the  long  rides  I 
enjoyed,  as  we  sped  like  the  wind  across  the  wide  plain.  Had  I 
been  asked  to  resign  my  horse  and  live  shut  up,  as  in  the  days  I 
spent  in  the  Temple  of  Amurath,  I  should  soon  have  wearied  of 
the  confinement,  but  Jelal-ud-din,  in  his  wisdom,  sought  not  to 
trammel  the  freedom  of  my  movements,  and  I  came  and  went  as 
I  listed,  rode  or  studied  as  I  felt  inclined.  All  he  exacted  from 
me  was  an  oath  that  under  no  circumstances,  while  my  life  on 
Earth  should  last,  would  I  impart  to  another  the  mysteries  I  had 
learned  from  him — an  oath  which  I  faithfully  kept  during  my 
mortal  life,  and  which  I  only  break  now  because  Jelal-ud-din 
himself  no  longer  desires  that  I  should  keep  it. 

My  Master  devoted  himself  first  to  instructing  me  in  the 
various  methods  of  using  my  psychic  powers,  and  showed  me 
how  to  make  them  subordinate  to  my  will.  In  the  Temple  I  had 


56  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

been  the  blind,  often  the  unconscious,  instrument  whose  powers 
were  used  by  others.  Jelal-ud-din  taught  me  how  to  use  them 
myself,  and  initiated  me  into  the  mystery  of  leaving  my  body  at 
will  and  roaming  through  the  Spirit  Spheres,  and  holding  com- 
munion with  their  inhabitants.  He  warned  me,  however,  never 
to  attempt  this  unless  he  was  with  me,  as  I  had  not  yet  attained 
to  the  degree  of  knowledge  and  power  which  would  render  me 
safe  in  doing  so.  I  pressed  him  very  earnestly  to  give  me  this 
knowledge,  but  he  would  not  do  so,  although  he  promised  that 
later  on  he  would  in  all  respects  satisfy  my  desires.  He  declared 
that  as  yet  the  time  had  not  fully  come  when  it  could  be  imparted 
to  me,  and  I  felt  when  he  said  this  what  I  had  felt  more  than  once 
before,  that  he  showed  me  enough  to  make  me  of  use  to  himself, 
and  to  whet  my  appetite  for  more,  yet  always  held  in  his  own 
hands  a  certain  reserve  of  knowledge  which  kept  me  dependent 
upon  him. 

He  would  send  my  disembodied  Spirit  to  visit  certain  places 
and  people  of  whom  he  desired  to  obtain  secret  information,  and 
was  able  to  obtain  from  me  perfectly  clear  descriptions  of  what 
I  beheld  or  heard,  although  I  myself,  on  waking  from  my  semi- 
trance,  only  retained  a  confused  consciousnes  of  where  I  had  been. 
Not  till  long  afterwards  did  I  learn  to  what  use  he  put  the  knowl- 
edge he  gained. 

When  I  first  saw  Jelal-ud-din  I  thought,  as  I  have  said,  that 
he  was  about  forty  years  of  age,  but  when  I  came  to  know  him  I 
changed  this  estimate,  for  ten  times  forty  years  would  not  have 
sufficed  for  the  accumulation  of  all  the  knowledge  and  experience 
which  he  had  acquired,  and  I  was  not  surprised  to  learn  that  he 
was  one  of  those  strangely  gifted  beings  who,  having  discovered 
the  secret  of  how  to  defy  the  assaults  of  time  and  arrest  the  decay 
of  the  earthly  body,  are  able  to  prolong  their  earthly  lives  for  an 
indefinite  period.  What  this  secret  was  he  did  not  impart  to  me, 
nor  did  he  show  any  desire  to  speak  of  his  past  history,  but  from 
many  little  circumstances  I  gathered  that  there  had  been  incidents 
in  that  past  which  filled  his  Soul  with  intense  bitterness  towards 
all  in  a  position  above  him,  and  gave  him  an  antagonistic  feeling 
to  most  of  his  kind.  And  while  he  thirsted  always  for  more  and 
more  power  to  control  the  forces  of  the  Unseen  Universe  around 
him,  it  was  chiefly  in  order  that  through  their  aid  he  might  humili- 
ate the  powerful  Rulers  of  men  who  sought  his  help,  or  whom  he 
was  able  indirectly  to  influence. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  57 

Jelal-ud -din's  occupations  were  many  and  secret,  and  his 
wonderful  reputation  for  skill,  both  as  a  magician  and  as  a  practi- 
tioner of  medicine,  was  due  to  no  mere  charlatanism,  but  to  a  real 
and  profound  knowledge,  not  only  of  the  anatomy  of  the  human 
body,  but  of  chemistry,  and  the  action  of  the  various  drugs  which 
he  prescribed.  He  carried  on  a  perfectly  legitimate  and  even 
beneficial  business  in  curing  many  people  of  wounds  and  diseases 
which  would  have  appeared  to  be  fatal,  and  while  he  exacted  a 
handsome  reward  for  these  services  from  the  rich  he  gave  time 
and  skill  for  nothing  to  those  who  were  poor,  and  was  ever  gen- 
erous in  assisting  the  truly  unfortunate,  so  that  he  had  fairly 
earned  the  title  given  him  by  many  of  the  * '  Good  Doctor."  Well 
would  it  have  been  for  him  and  his  immortal  welfare  if  he  had 
confined  the  use  of  his  power  to  such  ends,  but  with  the  para- 
doxical contradictions  of  this  man's  strange  character,  he  was  as 
ready,  or  even  more  so,  to  use  his  skill  in  furthering  an  evil  as  a 
good  purpose,  and  were  the  payment  made  to  him  sufficient  to 
tempt  a  strange  avaricious  love  of  hoarding  which  he  showed,  he 
would  kill  even  more  readily  than  cure. 

He  had  a  large  number  of  clients  who  sought  his  aid  either  to 
remove  troublesome  rivals  or  to  blight  the  prospects  of  those 
against  whom  some  spite  was  cherished.  He  also  sold  certain 
love  potions,  which  really  did  cause  those  who  drank  them  to 
exhibit,  at  all  events  for  a  time,  the  most  intense  passion  for  one 
towards  whom  they  had  previously  shown  indifference  or  dislike. 
He  cast  spells  over  some,  and  sold  charms  and  amulets  to  others, 
which  certainly  appeared  to  possess  the  virtues  he  claimed  for 
them.  To  my  inquiry  whether  there  was  indeed  power  in  the 
drugs  he  sold,  and  the  charms  and  spells  he  cast,  he  replied  with 
his  sardonic  smile: 

"In  the  little  phial  I  gave  to  yonder  love  sick  maid  who  hath  but 
just  left  us  there  was  naught  but  a  little  water  and  some  drops  of 
a  powerful  drug,  which  soothes  the  nerves  and  calms  the  brain, 
and  produces  that  pleasing  sensation  of  repose  which  is  the  first 
essential  to  the  thorough  enjoyment  of  amorous  thoughts.  But 
that  phial  and  its  contents  have  been  subjected  to  my  magnetic 
influence,  and  have  absorbed  so  much  of  my  personality  that  they 
now  form  a  focus  to  which  my  thoughts  can  travel,  as  on  a  slender 
thread  of  magnetic  communication.  I  can  thus  project  my  will 
unto  the  person  who  has  drunk  of  my  drug,  and  I  can  cause  him  or 
her  to  feel  the  sensations  I  desire  they  should  feel,  in  a  greater  or 


58  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

less  degree,  according  as  I  am  able  to  enter  into  their  sphere,  and 
then  in  very  truth  they  will  exhibit  those  emotions  which  I  have 
desired  that  they  should  show;  they  will  feel  sorry  or  glad,  ill  or 
well,  at  my  bidding." 

And  with  his  amulets  and  charms  it  was  the  same.  In  them 
there  would  be  certain  chemical  properties  calculated  to  assist 
the  effects  he  desired,  but  it  was  the  intellect  and  powerful  will  of 
the  Sorcerer  himself  which  gave  them  their  strongest  virtue.  The 
powerful  magnetism  of  a  man  like  Jelal-ud-din  once  imparted  to 
a  wand  or  ring  or  other  article  will  remain  so  long  as  the  object 
lasts  in  an  entire  state,  or  until  a  more  potent  influence  is  brought 
to  bear  upon  it.  It  is  this  magnetic  influence  which  constitutes 
the  peculiar  virtue  of  these  charms,  because  it  makes  of  the  object 
so  magnetised  a  powerful  focus  of  attraction  for  a  number  of 
Astral  creatures  of  every  kind.  These,  being  once  attracted  to 
the  object,  cling  to  it,  much  as  iron  does  to  loadstone,  and  the 
possessor  of  one  of  the  magic  (or  magnetic)  charms  can,  if  he  but 
possess  the  requisite  knowledge,  use  the  Astral  beings  who  have 
been  brought  under  the  dominion  of  the  original  possessor's  influ- 
ence to  carry  out  any  desire  which  he,  the  actual  holder  of  the 
charm,  may  wish. 

Many  a  time  have  I  beheld  these  phantasmal  beings  hovering 
around  Jelal-ud-din  and  myself  as  we  sat  poring  over  ancient 
parchments  which  he  had  obtained  from  the  archives  of  Magi- 
cians who  had  long  since  passed  from  their  earthly  bodies,  but 
whose  magnetic  influence  still  clung  around  these  embodiments 
of  their  thoughts  and  studies.  But  as  I  only  beheld  these  Astral 
beings  dimly,  and  as  the  explanations  of  their  nature  and  powers 
which  Jelal-ud-din  gave  me  were  mixed  with  a  good  deal  of  error 
as  well  as  much  truth,  I  shall  reserve  my  account  of  them  till  the 
second  half  of  my  story,  when  I  myself  beheld  them  with  the  clear 
unveiled  eyes  of  the  spirit,  and  learned  how  difficult  was  the 
attempt  to  study  them  from  the  mortal  side  of  life,  where  the 
earthly  envelope  imposes  so  many  restrictions  on  the  sight  and 
hearing  of  the  Soul.* 

It  is  not  given  to  many  mortals  to  behold  these  Astral  forms 
of  life  at  all.  The  faculty  which  would  enable  man  to  do  so  is 
seldom  found  in  more  than  the  germ  state  during  the  life  of  the 
Soul  in  the  spheres  of  that  planet  upon  which  it  has  found  incar- 
nate life.  Many  Spirits  who  have  passed  the  first  stage  of  earthly 

*See  note  I  as  to  obsessions. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  59 

existence  cannot  even  perceive  them.  They  assure  those  mortals 
with  whom  they  communicate  that  such  forms  of  life  do  not  exist, 
their  limited  knowledge  (and  ignorance  that  it  is  limited)  prevent- 
ing them  from  realizing  that  a  still  more  etherealized  form  of  sight 
than  they,  even  as  Spirits,  possess,  may  be  needful  to  show  these 
things  which  are  invisible  to  them  even  as  the  things  of  the  Spirit 
World  are  invisible  to  mortal  eyes.  To  behold  clearly,  and  to 
judge  truly,  the  nature  of  these  aerial  phantoms  of  the  astral  plane 
requires  a  peculiar  and  very  irksome  process  of  development, 
which  few  mortals  would  care  to  undergo,  while  fewer  still  possess 
the  needful  qualities  of  super-refined  Soul-sight. 

That  which  has  been  denominated  "Astral  matter"  exists  not 
alone  in  the  spheres  around  the  planets  but  extends  through  all 
the  Universe,  constituting  in  fact  a  hitherto  unrecognized  element 
of  that  Universe.  The  term  "Astral  matter"  (so  called  for  lack 
of  a  better  word  to  express  the  difference  between  Spiritual  and 
Material  matter),  is  used  to  describe  that  coarsest  and  most  gross 
form  of  Astral  Life  found  in  the  Earth  Plane  and  in  close  prox- 
imity to  material  life,  whose  elements  mix  largely  in  the  formation 
of  those  Astral  bodies  which  form  a  second  shell,  as  one  may  say, 
to  the  Soul,  during  its  life  on  Earth  and  on  the  Earth  Plane.  This 
gross  form  of  Astral  Life  being  mixed  largely  with  physical  atoms 
may  be,  and  often  is,  perceived  by  clairvoyants  of  a  low  degree  of 
power,  and  being  thus  seen  is  often  mistaken  for  the  true  Soul- 
envelopes  of  those  who  have  passed  from  Earth  life,  and  who  may 
even  have  passed  to  the  second  sphere,  leaving  this  Astral  shell 
to  disintegrate  alone. 

Jelal-ud-din  and  those  great  teachers  of  the  occult  under 
whom  he  had  spent  many  years  in  patient  study,  were  only  able 
to  search  into  the  mysteries  of  this  intermediate  race  of  beings 
with  the  imperfect  powers  of  their  earth-encumbered  Spirits,  and 
although  they  learned  much  concerning  those  beings,  who  ap- 
proach most  closely  in  their  constitution  to  man  himself,  they 
were  yet  ignorant  of  the  more  subtle,  more  refined,  and  more 
intellectually  created  Astrals  who  constitute  the  REAL  danger 
attending  the  intercourse  of  man  and  these  semi-human  powers. 
He  who  would  seek  to  make  them  his  slaves,  and  to  use  them  as 
tools  for  the  furtherance  of  his  own  selfish  purposes,  should  under- 
stand all  the  laws,  many  and  complex  as  they  are,  which  regulate 
the  existence  of  such  beings;  and  who  so  tries  to  control'them 
without  such  perfect  knowledge  is  like  a  man  who  sleeps  sur- 


60  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

rounded  by  deadly  explosives,  that  a  single  chance  spark  may 
ignite  and  cause  his  utter  destruction. 

A  perfect  understanding  of  these  Spiritual  laws,  wherein  lies 
man's  safety  from  the  assaults  of  these  Astral  powers,  can  only 
be  gained  in  the  spheres  of  Spirit  life,  and  it  is  therefore  never  safe 
for  Mortals  to  attempt  in  any  way  to  control  these  Beings.  Those 
who  have  done  so  in  the  past  have,  sooner  or  later,  in  Earth  or 
Spirit  life,  paid  to  the  full  the  dread  penalty  of  their  temerity. 


CHAPTER  X 

DRIFTING  DOWNWARDS 

As  soon  as  darkness  approached  Jelal-ud-din  and  I  began  our 
studies.  He  would  draw  around  us  with  his  magic  wand  certain 
figures  of  triangles,  circles,  and  other  devices,  till  we  were  walled 
in  by  an  invisible  barrier  against  our  invisible  foes.  As  my  clair- 
voyant powers  developed  I  perceived  that  from  the  point  of  his 
black  wand  a  faint  blue  flame  of  spiritual  ether  flowed  as  he  traced 
out  each  figure.  The  degree  of  materiality  possessed  by  this  flame 
being  in  exact  proportion  to  that  of  the  Astral  beings  around  us, 
served  to  keep  them  beyond  its  barrier,  for  Jelal-ud-din  traced 
upon  the  ceiling,  as  upon  the  floor,  his  mystic  circles,  so  that  these 
two  walls  of  flame,  spreading  downwards  and  floating  upwards, 
formed  a  cage  of  spiritual  fire  within  which  we  sat  secure,  while 
outside  prowled,  like  wild  beasts  of  prey,  those  strange  and  hor- 
rible creatures  which  the  powerful  magnetism  generated  during 
our  experiments  attracted,  as  moths  are  attracted  to  the  flame  of 
a  candle.  The  faint  blue  flames  would  glimmer  around  us  till 
day  dawned,  when  the  glorious  purifying  rays  of  the  sun  would 
illuminate  the  Earth  and  put  to  flight  those  creatures  of  darkness 
and  night. 

While  surrounded  by  our  circles  of  mystic  fire  I  would  behold 
many  visions,  and  more  than  once  did  I  see  the  face  of  the  woman 
whose  charms  had  so  entranced  my  senses.  But  although  I 
strove  with  all  my  powers  to  discover  who  she  was  and  where  she 
lived,  no  sign  was  ever  given  to  guide  me  to  her,  although  every- 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  61 

thing  I  saw  tended  to  prove  the  reality  of  her  existence.  To  my 
inquiries  Jelal-ud-din  would  reply  that  when  he  consulted  the 
stars  on  my  behalf  the  result  was  ever  the  same,  and  showed  that 
the  hour  of  my  meeting  with  her  was  not  yet  come,  that  it  was 
indeed  some  distance  away.  "  As  yet "  said  he,  "  she  doth  appear 
to  me  as  a  maid  of  tender  years;  thou  hast  beheld  her  as  she  will 
be  when  thou  dost  meet.  But  rest  tranquil,  oh,  most  impatient 
youth !  Possess  thy  Soul  in  patience,  for  thou  canst  no  more  hurry 
on  the  hands  upon  the  dial  of  events  than  thou  canst  delay  them, 
and  at  the  appointed  time  shall  thy  destiny  and  hers  be  fulfilled." 

Neither  was  he  able  to  explain  those  other  visions  which  he 
had  caused  me  to  see.  It  was  one  thing  to  will  that  the  future 
should  be  shadowed  out  before  me,  and  another  to  rightly  inter- 
pret the  meaning  of  the  things  I  saw. 

Thus  in  following  out  first  one  branch  and  then  another  of 
mystic  lore  did  time  glide  on  for  us  so  swiftly  that  four  years  passed 
ere  I  had  well  marked  its  flight.  Each  day  I  sank  more  com- 
pletely under  the  dominion  of  Jelal-ud-din's  will;  each  day  did  I 
hesitate  less  and  less  at  following  his  example  and  his  counsels, 
even  when  in  my  heart  I  knew  them  to  be  evil.  From  the  first 
some  instinct  had  whispered  to  me  to  beware  of  this  man,  but  I 
put  aside  the  warning  voice  and  allowed  myself  to  deteriorate 
more  and  more  under  his  influence.  I  had  never  learned  the 
lessons  of  self-control  and  self-restraint,  and  if  Itdesired  a  thing 
I  did  not  hesitate  to  possess  myself  of  it.  In  the  Temple  my 
nature  had  been  repressed  and  crushed:  in  no  respect  taught  and 
trained.  That  knowledge  of  myself  and  of  the  consequences 
which  result  from  our  own  actions,  which  might  have  served  as  a 
certain  restraint  upon  the  too  exuberant  passions  of  my  youth,  had 
never  been  given  to  me.  My  life  with  the  robbers  of  the  Hills  had 
not  tended  to  elevate  my  moral  perceptions,  and  the  teachings  of 
Jelalud-din  were  still  less  calculated  to  do  so.  He,  for  certain  rea- 
sons of  his  own,  desired  above  all  thing  to  degrade  me  to  his  own 
level,  and  I  had  no  shield  with  which  to  resist  the  temptations  with 
which  he  assailed  me.  As  I  sank  downwards  so  did  he  unmask  yet 
more  and  more  his  real  character,  and  show  me  first  one  dark 
plague  spot  and  then  another.  The  vices  of  gluttony  and  drunk- 
enness did  not  tempt  either  of  us;  but  are  there  not  other  vices  even 
more  degrading?  The  secret  habits  we  indulged  in  at  this  time 
were  such  as  to  lower  us  below  the  level  of  the  irresponsible  brutes, 
even  while  the  cultivation  of  our  intellectual  powers  enabled  us 


62  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

to  control  the  services  of  those  Earth-bound  Spirits,  and  those 
denizens  of  the  Astral  Plane,  whose  moral  condition  placed  them 
on  as  low  a  level  as  ourselves. 

Thus  did  my  evil  genius  drag  me  down  with  him,  till  we  had 
well  nigh  sunk  into  the  pit  of  corruption  together. 

I  had  become  almost  like  a  machine  in  the  hands  of  this  man; 
he  had  but  to  command  and  I  obeyed.  He  would  bid  me  behold 
certain  things,  or  visit  certain  places,  and  if  it  was  within  the  limits 
of  that  sphere  to  which  I  had  sunk,  I  would  at  once  pass  into  the 
trance  state  and  give  him  the  desired  information. 

My  mind  and  my  body  at  last  became  alike  enfeebled  by  the 
constant  strain  put  upon  them,  and  I  made  ever  a  fainter  resist- 
ance to  the  influence  of  Jelal-ud-din. 

Let  no  one  ever  resign  the  sovereignty  of  himself,  his  mind  or 
body,  into  the  hands  of  another,  be  he  Priest  or  layman.  For  a 
man's  freedom  is  his  Divine  Prerogative,  and  he  who  yields  it  to 
another  is  more  abject  than  the  lowest  slave. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  SECRET  OF  JELAL-UD-DIN 

It  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  year  of  my  residence  with 
Jelal-ud-din  that  I  learned  at  last  the  real  reason  why  he  had 
sought  me  out,  and  had  directed  all  his  ingenuity  to  bringing  me 
down  to  a  spiritual  level  with  himself. 

I  had  soon  learned  that  he  had  lived  for  a  number  of  years  far 
beyond  the  bounds  of  the  ordinary  space  alloted  to  man,  but  I 
did  not  guess  that  he  no  longer  found  the  means  he  had  previ- 
ously used  for  this  end  capable  of  producing  the  desired  effect, 
and  that  each  day  he  was  growing  more  feverishly  anxious  to  learn 
the  secret  of  their  failure. 

I  had  observed,  from  the  first  a  very  curious  change  which 
passed  over  Jelal-ud-din  at  times,  and  which  of  late  had  grown 
much  more  marked.  In  the  early  morning  he  would  appear  fresh 
and  young  looking,  but  as  evening  drew  on  he  would  graduually 
change,  growing  years  older  in  appearance  in  a  few  hours;  his 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  63 

hands  in  particular  greatly  showed  the  appearance  of  age,  grow- 
ing withered,  shrunken,  and  yellow  as  old  parchment,  such  as 
one  sees  in  the  hands  of  very  old  people;  for  it  is  a  strange  fact 
that  the  hands  will  show  age  even  when  the  face  remains  com- 
paratively young. 

In  the  fourth  year  of  my  residence  with  the  Sorcerer  this  change 
instead  of  only  coming  on  occasionally,  began  to  appear  almost 
every  day,  and  his  face  would  even  grow  haggard  and  old  while 
I  was  looking  at  him.  On  such  occasions  he  would  at  once 
dismiss  me,  and  shut  himself  up  alone  for  some  hours,  reappear- 
ing with  his  youth  again  restored.  Yet  I  could  see  that  he  was 
daily  consumed  with  a  growing  anxiety  on  the  subject. 

At  last  one  day  as  we  were  sitting  together  his  head  fell  forward 
suddenly,  his  body  shrank  and  shrivelled  up  into  the  semblance 
of  a  mummy  rather  than  a  man,  while  the  change  which  passed 
over  his  face  was  so  ghastly  and  horrible  that  I  shrank  back  in 
horror  and  alarm.  He  could  not  speak,  but  he  signed  to  me  with 
his  old  imperiousness  of  manner  to  leave  the  room,  while  the  foam 
of  passion  gathered  upon  his  lips,  and  his  hands  were  clinched 
together  in  an  agony  of  helpless  wrath  as  he  sank  upon  the  floor. 

So  great  was  my  subjection  to  him  that  I  did  not  venture  to 
remain  and  offer  to  help  him,  but  I  hovered  about  outside,  till  I 
heard  a  scratching,  scraping  noise,  followed  by  my  master's  voice 
speaking  in  faint  and  feeble  tones  to  some  invisible  Beings;  then, 
as  the  voice  grew  stronger,  I  strode  away  to  my  room. 

I  did  not  venture  down  for  some  hours,  and  when  I  did  so  I 
found  Jelal-ud-din  seated  on  his  cushions  and  looking  once  more 
like  his  former  self,  save  for  a  certain  haggard  drawn  look  on  his 
face,  and  a  nervous  twitching  of  his  hands. 

"  Ahrinziman,"  said  he,  "I  regret  that  thou  shouldst  have  seen 
me  under  the  influence  of  that  strange  mishap,  but  it  may  be  that 
after  all  it  will  help  thee  the  better  to  understand  what  I  desire  to 
tell  thee.  Thou  hast  been  for  four  years  my  companion  and 
pupil.  To  thee  have  I  confided  secrets  I  have  shown  to  no  other 
mortal,  and  therefore  I  would  confide  to  thee  yet  another  secret 
more  precious  than  any  thou  hast  yet  learned. 

"Thou  knowest  that  I  have  already  lived  far  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  life  lived  by  ordinary  men,  but  thou  dost  not  know  that  five 
centuries  have  passed  since  first  mine  eyes  opened  to  the  light  of 
Earth.  In  those  years  I  have  renewed  again,  and  ever  yet  again, 
the  vital  fluid  which  holds  together  the  atoms  of  the  mortal  body; 


64  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZINAN 

thus  have  I  kept  at  bay  the  cold  clutch  of  Death,  whose  icy  hand 
doth  separate  the  Spirit  from  its  covering  and  send  it  forth  to  I 
know  not  what  dark  depths  of  Hell.  For  those  who  have  dared, 
as  I — and  thou  also — to  lift  aside  the  veil  which  hides 
the  darkest  secrets  of  Ahriman  and  his  Angels,  there  awaits  upon 
the  black  shores  of  Death's  stream  many  a  vengeful  fiend  whose 
power  we  have  defied,  and  whom  I  at  least  have  subjected  to  my 
will  and  made  my  slave,  but  to  whom  I  myself  may  become  sub- 
ject when  I  enter  those  realms  where  they,  and  not  I,  shall  reign 
supreme.  Judge  then,  if  such  as  I  am  dare  to  die?  Think, 
whether  unto  me  all  means  are  not  lawful  whereby  I  may  retain 
my  hold  upon  this  earthly  body  that  serves  as  my  shield  against 
these  evil  powers  with  which  I  have  tampered,  and  whom  I  have 
defied?  Wonder  not  that  I  seek  from  thee,  Oh!  my  worthy  pupil, 
the  help  which  thou  alone  canst  give.  I  have  trained  thee  for  four 
years;  thou  dost  behold  now  that  sphere  wherein  lies  the  knowl- 
edge I  desire,  and  to-night  thou  and  I  must  seek  it  together.  I 
cannot  longer  delay  the  time.  I  can  no  further  prepare  thee,  for 
each  day  I  lose  more  rapidly  the  vitality  I  have  acquired,  and  each 
time  that  I  consult  the  stars  I  perceive  that  the  span  of  my  life  has 
shortened  by  many  days.  The  means  I  have  used  successfully 
for  many  years  of  the  past  have  begun  to  fail  me  now.  I  lose  my 
life  forces  more  rapidly  than  I  can  renew  them.  Something  is 
required  that  was  not  required  at  first,  and  thou  must  find  out  for 
me  what  that  element  is.  To-night,  as  I  have  said,  we  shall  seek 
for  it.  Meanwhile  do  thou  gaze  into  yonder  black  mirror  again, 
and  let  the  invisible  ones  around  us  show  thee  what  shall  be  the 
outcome  of  our  experiment;  shall  success  or  failure  be  my  fate?" 

His  eyes  glittered  as  he  said  this,  with  the  glare  of  a  hungry 
wolf  that  would  fain  tear  in  pieces  anything  whose  destruction 
might  give  him  the  desired  food,  and  I  thought  within  myself  he 
would  have  slain  a  hundred  men  if  he  could  but  extract  one  pre- 
cious drop  of  Life  from  each.  I  recoiled  from  him,  and 
took  up  the  mirror  as  he  commanded,  and  waited  while  the  mist 
passed  over  its-  face. 

"What  dost  thou  behold?"  cried  my  Master  impatiently. 

"I  see,"  said  I,  "naught  but  a  black  cloth  or  curtain.  I  see 
every  fold  of  its  drapery,  but  it  rises  not  to  show  me  anything 
behind." 

"Oh!  Powers  of  Ahriman!"  cried  Jelal-ud-din  in  a  voice 
of  entreaty,  "Oh!  Ye  Angels  of  the  Dark  Spheres  whom  I  have 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  65 

served !  Raise,  I  pray  thee,  but  one  corner  of  this  veil,  that  we 
may  know  the  secret  thou  dost  hide,  and  learn  whether  life  or 
death  is  hid  behind  that  veil  for  me.  Ahrinziman,  look  yet  again, 
dost  thou  behold  yet  nothing?" 

I  looked  steadily  at  the  mirror,  yet  the  vision  changed  not.  No 
corner  of  the  black  curtain  was  raised,  and  I  told  Jelal-ud-din 
so.  And  even  as  I  did  so  the  curtain  itself  faded  out,  leaving  no 
picture  there.  In  vain  I  waited;  nothing  more  appeared. 

Jelal-ud-din  wrung  his  hands  in  bitter  disappointment.  Then 
rousing  himself  he  said: 

"Be  it  even  so,  since  the  Oracles  are  dumb  to  me.  I  must  be 
patient  till  to-night.  I  shall  send  Taki  a  two  days'  journey  from 
the  city,  that  he  may  not  spy  upon  us,  and  then  thou  and  I  together 
will  wrest  from  the  Powers  of  Darkness  this  secret  that  they  so 
jealously  guard  from  mine  eyes.  Go  thou  and  seek  repose,  that 
thou  mayest  gather  up  all  thy  powers,  for,  methinks,  that  curtain 
which  they  have  shown  is  the  symbol  of  silence,  and  they  will 
answer  no  questions  that  we  ask  now." 

I  bowed  low  to  my  Master  and  left  the  room.  But  although 
I  said  nothing  to  him,  I  had  my  own  thoughts  as  to  the  meaning 
of  the  vision.  For  to  me  the  curtain  had  not  seemed  like  unto 
the  curtain  of  silence,  but  rather  it  resembled  to  my  eyes  a  Funeral 
Pall. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  ANGEL  OF  DARKNESS 

As  soon  as  the  black  slave  Taki  had  fairly  started  on  his  jour- 
ney, and  it  grew  dark,  Jelal-ud-din  took  me  into  the  garden,  and 
leading  me  to  the  fountain  showed  me  where  he  kept  his  treasure 
and  some  of  his  most  valuable  manuscripts  concealed.  For  he 
had  always  the  fear  that  some  day  his  house  might  be  attacked, 
and  he  himself  glad  of  a  hiding  place  for  his  wealth  as  well  as  his 
person.  Those  who  engage  in  such  practices  as  Jelal-ud-din 
make  of  necessity  many  enemies,  who  would  be  only  too  glad  of 
an  excuse  to  attack  and  plunder  them. 


66  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

My  Master  first  drained  all  the  water  out  of  the  marble  basin, 
and  then  showed  me  how  to  raise  one  of  the  large  squares  that 
paved  the  bottom.  We  saw  before  us  a  narrow  flight  of  steps, 
and  on  descending  them  I  found  myself  in  a  small  oblong  chamber 
like  a  vault.  Here  were  a  number  of  iron  bound  chests  of  very 
massive  construction,  which  evidently  held  the  wealth  which  the 
Sorcerer  had  accumulated  during  his  extraordinary  life.  In  other 
chests  of  lighter  make  there  were  a  number  of  parchment  rolls. 
Jelal-ud-din  took  out  three  of  these  rolls,  and  then  with  my  assist- 
ance carried  up  one  of  the  massive  chests  into  the  house^  taking 
the  precaution,  however,  to  close  the  stone  before  we  left  the 
fountain. 

The  weight  of  the  chest  rather  surprised  me  as  we  brought  it 
in,  and  the  contents  surprised  me  still  more,  for  it  appeared  to  be 
full  of  large  lumps  of  heavy  metal,  like  a  mixture  of  lead  and 
silver.  These  my  Master  put  into  a  large  smelting  pot  over  a 
small  furnace  in  his  room,  and  as  soon  as  the  mass  became  molten 
he  poured  it  into  a  large  mould.  All  the  time  it  was  melting  he 
continued  to  chant,  in  a  low,  monotonous  voice,  an  incantation, 
as  I  imagined,  to  those  Powers  of  Evil  whose  aid  he  sought. 
Having  made  all  arrangements  for  cooling  the  metal  which  he  had 
poured  into  the  mould,  he  led  me  up  the  narrow  stairs  to  the  tower, 
saying  that  those  whom  he  had  summoned  to  his  aid  him  must  be 
left  to  do  their  task  alone. 

Having  reached  the  tiny  chamber  at  the  top  of  the  tower  he 
drew  the  heavy  hangings  across  the  openings  of  the  windows,  and 
having  thus  shrouded  us  in  darkness  he  bade  me  look  at  his  hands 
and  tell  him  what  colors  were  visible  to  my  clairvoyant  sight 
as  emanating  from  them. 

"Each  color  which  thou  wilt  see  doth  show  the  presence  of 
certain  essences  which  go  to  form  the  complete  life  fluid,  by  whose 
agency  the  particles  of  the  body  are  held  together.  If  they  are  all 
equally  balanced  then  is  the  life  force  strong  and  vigorous,  but  if 
any  are  faint  and  pale  then  will  the  body  exhibit  signs  of  disease, 
and  if  any  of  them  fail  altogether,  so  that  the  spectrum  becomes 
incomplete,  then  must  death  follow  within  a  brief  period,  for  each 
element  is  needful  to  hold  the  whole  in  combination.  I  am  con- 
scious that  one  or  more  of  these  elements  is  wanting  in  a  great 
degree  to  myself;  which  ones  I  cannot  myself  discover.  Do  thou 
look  then  and  tell  me." 

For  some  moments  I  could  behold  nothing.     The  extreme 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  67 

darkness  made  it  impossible  to  see  with  my  physical  eyes,  and  for 
a  short  time  my  clairvoyant  sight  seemed  gone  from  me.  After 
about  half,  an  hour  of  anxious  watching  I  began  to  see  a  faint 
cloud  of  mist  hovering  around  the  place  where  Jelal-ucl-din  stood. 
This  grew  into  two  long  tongues  of  parti-colored  flames,  which 
seemed  to  pour  out  of  his  extended  hands.  The  complete  rainbow- 
band  was  visible,  on  the  top  the  blue-white  light  was  a  mere 
thread,  while  the  crimson  at  the  foot  was  as  a  wide  torrent  of 
flame.  The  blue  was  small,  and  the  gold  mixed  with  dark 
streaks,  like  a  stream  that  has  become  muddy.* 

Jelal-du-din's  delight  was  great  when  he  found  that  I  could 
see  this.  It  seemed  to  revive  his  drooping  hopes  and  renew  his 
courage. 

"Behold,"  said  he,  "thy  gifts  are  of  a  great  and  priceless  value, 
Ahrinziman.  Many  seers  have  I  tried,  but  none  could  behold 
this  vital  rainbow  with  such  clearness  as  thou  hast  done.  Many 
see  it  in  part,  but  few  indeed  can  subdivide  those  parts  into  dis- 
tinct threads  of  color.  Some  behold  only  the  prevailing  color  of 
each  individual  person  whose  spectrum  they  can  discern ;  few  can 
recognize  that  all  colors  must  be  present  in  the  aura  of  every  man, 
or  else  he  would  die.  They  see  the  prevailing  colors  and  think 
that  is  all  there  is  to  see,  and  that  therefore  the  full  rainbow  is  not 
present  in  all  animated  nature.  Do  thou  rest  passive  now,  while 
I  ask  a  yet  further  test  from  thy  powers." 

*The  life  of  Man  is  sustained  by  a  fine  etheric  fluid  composed  of  three 
elements — the  animistic  or  mental  life  essence — the  astral  fluid  or  magnetism 
of  the  intermediate  magnetic  plane  between  soul  and  body  and  the  aura 
or  aroma  of  the  physical  plane — the  material  essence  of  physical  organic 
life.  The  blending  of  these  three  constitute  the  perfect  psychic  or 
mediumistic  nature! — an  unequal  proportion  of  any  of  the  three  causes  a 
certain  disturbance  in  the  equilibrium  which  renders  the  mortal  either  too 
sensitive  or  too  irresponsive  to  spiritual  influences. 

The  whole  process  of  materialisation  and  de-materialisation  depends 
on  the  balancing  of  the  three  elements  and  their  action  on  one  another. 

Thus  one  who  has  a  superflow  of  the  magnetic  fluid  may  cause  objects 
to  move  around  him  without  contact  and  yet  cannot  help  spirits  to  appear 
in  material  form;  again  one  with  a  strong  mental  essence  but  a  deficiency 
of  the  other  may  see  and  hear  the  visitants  of  the  other  plane  or  project 
themselves  into  other  planes  yet  cannot  cause  the  materialisation  of  any 
psychic  body.  Yet  put  the  two  extremes  together  and  add  the  soul  essence 
and  aromal  essence  to  them  and  you  can  create  life  in  the  physical  form 
instantly.  But  the  permanence  of  such  a  material  apparition  will  depend 
entirely  on  the  amount  of  soul  essence  with  which  you  can  endow  your 
creation. — F.  W,  THURSTAN,  M.  A. 


68  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

He  now  approached  me  and  drew  some  figure  upon  the  floor 
in  front  of  where  I  stood,  and  I  saw  the  blue  flame  as  it  flowed 
from  his  wand  tracing  it  in  lines  of  light.  Then  he  made  some 
passes  over  me,  and  the  flames  of  crimson  fire  which  flowed  from 
his  fingers  seemed  to  scorch  my  brain,  and  cause  a  stupor  to  pass 
over  me,  and  numb  my  limbs,  till  I  grew  fixed  rigidly  to  the  spot 
whereon  I  stood.  And  as  in  a  dream,  yet  a  dream  with  all  my 
faculties  in  fullest  consciousness,  I  heard  Jelal-ud-din  call  upon 
the  Angel  of  Darkness  to  appear. 

The  tower  seemed  to  rock  with  an  earthquake.  A  rolling, 
rushing  noise  as  of  an  approaching  army  of  the  Unseen  was  heard 
and  I  saw  a  brilliant  Star  of  Crimson  Fire  pass  through  the  roof 
and  rest  upon  the  floor.  From  its  heart  there  arose  the  figure  of 
a  man:  a  tall  majestic  man,  clothed  from  head  to  foot  in  a  long 
black  mantle.  He  seemed  to  rise  and  rise  before  me,  till  he  stood 
a  dark,  distinct  figure  surrounded  by  rays  of  fire.  He  drew  aside 
the  covering  from  his  head  and  face,  and  I  beheld  once  more  the 
fearful  countenance  of  that  Angel  of  Darkness  I  had  seen  on  my 
first  visit  to  Jelal-ud-din. 

I  was  so  completely  entranced  that  I  could  not  move  even  an 
eyelid,  but  I  could  see  and  hear  all  that  passed,  and  I  knew  that 
the  Being  who  stood  before  me  now  was  no  mere  vision  reflected 
to  me  from  the  face  of  a  magic  mirror,  but  the  actual  Spirit  him- 
self, clothed  with  a  materiality  that  would  have  made  him  visible 
to  any  mortal  sight,  surrounded  as  he  was  by  that  dull  glow  of 
crimson  light. 

As  Jelal-ud-din  prostrated  himself  before  him,  the  Dark  Angel 
said  in  a  low,  deep  tone: 

"Thou  hast  summoned  me,  and  lo!  I  am  here.  What  dost 
thou  desire  of  me?" 

"Oh,  Great  Spirit!  Powerful  Angel!  I  ask  from  Thee  the 
boon  of  a  yet  longer  life  on  Earth,  and  I  conjure  Thee,  by  the  many 
years  in  which  I  have  served  Thee,  that  thou  shouldst  reveal  to  me 
what  are  the  means  whereby  I  can  attain  the  boon." 

"Art  thou  certain  that  the  life  of  Earth  is  so  sweet  a  thing  that 
thou  hast  no  other  desire  than  to  prolong  it?"  said  the  Angel, 
fixing  his  sombre  eyes  on  Jelal-ud-din's  face. 

"Yea,"  answered  the  Sorcerer  humbly,  "Yea,  above  all  things 
do  I  desire  it,  for  I  know  what  the  life  of  mortality  is,  but  who  can 
paint  to  me  the  life  of  that  unknown  World  beyond  the  Tomb." 

"It  is  enough,"  answered  the  Angel.     "In  so  far  as  lies  in  my 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  69 

power  I  grant  thee  thy  petition.  But  know,  oh  man  of  Earth, 
that  Life  and  Death  are  not  within  my  power  to  give.  Neither 
Angel  nor  Mortal  can  bestow  that,  since  they  are  the  gifts  of  the 
one  Supreme  Being  alone,  before  whose  almighty  will  the  angels 
of  the  Light  and  Dark  Spheres  alike  must  bow.  What  I  can  give 
to  thee  is  the  knowledge  of  the  means  whereby  life  may  be  sus- 
tained, and  thou  thyself  must  use  them  to  the  appointed  end,  be' 
it  for  good  or  evil  unto  thee." 

He  struck  the  floor  thrice  with  his  foot  as  he  spoke,  and  where 
his  foot  had  rested  I  perceived  a  small  thick  roll  of  parchment  rise, 
as  though  it  rose  through  the  floor.  To  this  he  pointed,  saying: 

"Read  thou  that  scroll  and  follow  the  directions  it  gives  thee, 
and  thou  shalt  hold  within  thy  grasp  the  secret  which  means  Life 
or  Death  for  thee.  I  bid  thee  not  'farewell,'  oh,  Jelal-ud-din,  my 
worthy  servant !  for  I  foresee  that  we  shall  meet  again  ere  long." 

He  drew  his  mantle  once  more  over  his  face,  then  extending 
his  arms  like  wings  above  his  head,  the  Dark  Angel  seemed  to 
rise  and  soar  from  the  tower,  till  the  black  clouds  of  night  shrouded 
him  from  sight. 

I  awoke  from  my  trance,  to  behold  Jelal-ud-din  thrusting  the 
precious  roll  within  his  robe,  jealously  guarding  it  even  from  my 
eyes. 

"Oh,  Ahrinziman!"  he  cried  in  a  tone  of  great  exultation, 
"thou  art  indeed  of  priceless  value  to  me.  Little  did  I  ever  hope 
that  such  success  as  this  would  crown  my  researches.  Dost  thou 
know  that  this  scroll  I  have  received  is  in  the  veritable  writing  of 
the  greatest  Master  of  our  magic  art  that  ever  lived?  It  hath 
been  said  that  when  at  last,  weary  of  the  life  of  Earth,  he  laid 
himself  down  to  die,  he  made  those  around  him  vow  to  place  this 
papyrus  roll  between  his  dead  hands  and  bury  it  with  him  in  the 
tomb,  that  none  might  learn  the  secret  he  had  discovered.  It  was 
also  said  that  this  man  had  discovered  the  grave  of  Adam,  the 
forefather  of  all  mankind,  and  that  in  the  same  grave  where  rest 
the  bones  of  Adam  this  great  Magician  was  laid  to  rest.  Vainly 
have  I  and  others  sought  for  this  tomb,  that  we  might  possess  our- 
selves of  the  secret  of  life  which  the  dead  Master  held  within  his 
dead  hands.  Yet  ever  in  vain  have  we  sought  it,  for  who  knoweth 
where  is  the  grave  of  Adam,  and  how  should  one  discover  what 
so  powerful  a  Magician  desired  to  keep  secret?  And  now,  behold 
in  mine  own  hands  I  hold  this  mystic  scroll,  and  thou  and  I  to- 
gether shall  test  its  virtues  to-night.  Thou  art  worthy  of  great 


70  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

recompense,  Ahrinziman,  for  by  thy  power  was  the  Angel  able 
to  manifest  himself  to  me.  For  years  have  I  held  communion 
with  him,  yet  was  it  ever  imperfectly.  His  words  came  to  me  as 
thoughts,  whose  meanings  I  could  but  guess.  To-night  for  the 
first  time  he  hath  spoken  in  the  direct  voice  unto  me,  and  for  the 
first  time  I  have  beheld  him  clearly.  And,  Oh !  most  precious  gift 
of  all,  he  hath  given  unto  me  this  wondrous  scroll.  Verily,  Ahrin- 
ziman, thou  shalt  choose  from  my  treasure  chests  such  riches  as 
thou  dost  desire,  and  I  will  show  thee  the  secrets  of  many  won- 
drous things.  But  come,  let  us  descend,  for  the  work  of  the  Dark 
Spirits  will  now  be  finished  in  the  chamber  below,  and  we  have 
yet  much  to  do  ere  day  shall  dawn." 

We  accordingly  returned  to  the  Sorcerer's  room,  where  we 
found  the  large  smelting  cauldron,  which  he  had  cast  from  the 
rough  lumps  of  metal  in  the  box,  ready  now  for  use.  The  exhila- 
ration of  my  Master  was  so  great,  and  his  excitement  so  keen,  I 
scarcely  knew  him,  and  I  thought  unto  myself  that  it  was  no  good 
omen  of  success;  for  when  our  hopes  are  highest  is  oft  the  time 
when  misfortune  is  nearest  to  our  hand,  and  an  exaggeration  of 
expectancy,  like  unto  Jelal-ud-din's  is  most  oft  the  fore-runner 
of  a  great  disaster. 

Jeial-ud-din  trimmed  carefully  his  lamp,  and  placed  it  on  the 
table  beside  him.  Then,  having  first  thrown  certain  herbs  into 
the  cauldron,  and  added  some  chemicals  from  hermetically  sealed 
jars  which  he  had  brought  from  the  vault  beneath  the  fountain, 
he  placed  the  whole  mixture  over  the  fire  in  the  brazier,  and  bade 
me  watch  for  one  hour  that  it  did  not  stop  simmering,  while  he 
himself  sat  down  to  read  the  precious  papyrus  scroll. 

For  about  an  hour  he  read  on,  and  as  I  watched  him  from  time 
to  time  I  saw  his  face  change  its  expression  from  one  of  expecta- 
tion to  doubt  and  even  fear,  while  he  glanced  over  at  me  uneasily, 
lowering  his  eyes  the  moment  they  met  mine,  as  though  he  dared 
not  meet  my  questioning  gaze.  Yet  as  often  as  I  looked  up  I 
would  find  him  regarding  me  again  with  the  same  curious  uneasy 
expression. 

At  last  he  rose,  and  thrusting  the  scroll  within  his  bosom, 
approached  the  fire,  and  having  tested  the  contents  of  the  cauldron 
declared  that  it  had  reached  the  first  complete  stage  of  preparation. 
He  therefore  transferred  it  to  another  vessel  suitable  for  distilling 
the  liquid,  and  as  it  rose  in  steam  let  it  fall  drop  by  drop  into  a 
golden  bowl  beside  the  fire. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  71 

Jelal-ftd-din  now  proceeded  to  trace  anew  upon  the  floor  his 
protecting  wall  of  Spiritual  fire,  and  threw  a  handful  of  sweet 
scented  powder  into  the  brazier.  As  the  smoke  arose  from  it  I 
saw  a  grey  misty  shape  recoil  from  the  precious  cauldron,  and 
with  a  gesture  of  menace  disappear.  As  I  told  Jelal-ud  -din  this 
he  gave  a  sigh  of  intense  relief,  saying: 

UI  did  not  behold  yonder  shape,  yet  I  sensed  his  presence,  and 
I  knew  that  were  he  to  touch  the  golden  bowl  all  our  labor  would 
be  wasted.  I  was  too  long  absorbed  in  the  reading  of  that  scroll, 
and  had  well  nigh  suffered  one  of  the  evil  Spirits  to  break  in  upon 
us.  See,  now,  as  this  mixture  distills  I  will  tell  thee  why  it  was 
that  I  left  the  metal  pot  to  be  manipulated  by  the  Dark  Spirits 
who  wait  upon  me.  As  I  left  it,  it  was  but  made  by  mortal  hands, 
and  would  have  held  only  the  material  part  of  these  ingredients 
I  put  in  it.  The  Spiritual  essence  that  I  desire  above  all  things  to 
preserve  would  have  escaped.  The  Elixir  of  Life  would  have 
evaporated.  Thus  did  I  leave  the  Spirits  of  Darkness  to  work 
upon  the  pot,  and  make  it  suitable  for  our  work  of  darkness.  Each 
time  that  cauldron  is  made  use  of  it  must  be  destroyed  and  cast 
afresh.  Thrice  already  have  I  thus  used  it — who  knoweth  how 
many  more  times  I  shall  do  so? 

"  Ahrinziman,  do  thou  withdraw  a  little  from  me  for  a  time; 
sit  yonder,  near  the  window,  for  I  have  that  to  do  which  I  must 
do  alone,  and  at  the  right  moment  I  shall  again  summon  thee  to 
draw  near  and  lift  the  vessel  down  with  me." 

He  spoke  in  a  voice  of  constraint,  and  again  avoided  meeting 
my  eyes,  while  his  hands  trembled  as  with  an  ague  as  he  signed  to 
me  to  withdraw.  His  manner  also  had  changed.  The  state  of 
exhilaration  had  passed,  and  he  looked  haggard  and  anxious  and 
ill  at  ease. 

I  withdrew  to  near  the  heavily  curtained  window  and  seated 
myself  upon  some  cushions,  to  watch  the  progress  of  events,  sus- 
pecting strongly  that  my  Master  did  not  desire  that  I  should 
behold  all  he  did,  although  he  required  my  presence  in  the  room. 


72  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


CHAPTER  XIII 

MY  ANGEL  OF  LIGHT 

Nearly  an  hour  passed.  Jelal-ud-din  hung  all  the  time  over 
the  precious  pot  and  its  contents,  scarce  turning  to  look  at  me,  but 
muttering  strange  incantations  from  time  to  time,  and  making 
with  his  wand  mystic  figures  in  the  air,  or  throwing  fresh  scented 
powder  into  the  brazier.  He  seemed  to  be  absorbed  in  his  experi- 
ment, and  almost  oblivious  of  my  presence.  My  clairvoyant 
sight  seemed  unusually  clear,  for  I  beheld  around  us  more  dis- 
tinctly than  ever,  the  cloudy  phantoms  of  the  Astral  Plane,  who 
seemed  to  float  around  the  room  and  pass  through  the  walls  and 
ceiling  and  rise  up  through  the  floor  as  though  the  solid  masonry 
had  been  a  barrier  of  water  or  of  air.  Only  the  ring  of  magic  fire 
kept  them  away  from  us,  and  as  the  precious  liquid  simmered  in 
the  vessel  they  appeared  to  gather  in  ever  thickening  clouds, 
pressing  forward  upon  one  another  until  those  next  the  flaming 
ring  were  almost  forced  through  it  by  the  pressure  from  behind. 

How  shall  I  describe  the  multiform  variety  of  strange,  grotesque 
and  horrible  creatures  that  I  saw?  Some  large,  and  towering 
like  giant  phantoms  over  all  the  rest;  others,  winged  like  unto  a 
mixture  of  men  and  dragons;  creatures  that  resembled  wild 
beasts  in  their  bodies,  yet  had  the  faces  of  men;  imps  and  dwarfs; 
some  all  huge  heads  with  scarce  any  bodies;  others,  all  large 
bloated  bodies  and  no  heads.  Phantoms  that  were  in  all  respects 
like  unto  men  and  women,  yet  of  bodies  so  unsubstantial  that 
they  seemed  to  dissolve  like  smoke  wreaths,  and  then  form 
into  shape  again.  Beings  that  were  like  all  the  fantastic  creations 
of  man's  wandering  thoughts,  and  yet  possessing  each  its  own 
individuality,  its  curious  resemblance  to  the  human  type.  Wild 
and  horrible  looking  human  Spirits,  Earth-bound  and  miserable, 
mingled  with  this  phantom  throng,  and  fought  with  them  in  a 
fierce  desire  to  approach  and  grasp  this  precious  essence  of  Life. 
Huge  misty  shapes  drew  near,  like  and  yet  unlike  to  men,  and 
hovered  like  brooding  Spirits  of  Evil  around  the  fiery  ring.  Here 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  73 

and  there  a  head  or  arm,  a  foot  or  face,  would  suddenly  receive 
materiality  from  the  powerful  atmosphere  of  material  magnetism 
which  wre  had  generated  around  us,  and  vivified  with  the  emana- 
tions from  the  precious  Life-giving  Elixir;  and  with  the  material- 
ity this  head  or  foot  or  face  would  become  distinct  and  visible  to 
Jelal-ud-din's  sight  as  well  as  to  mine,  causing  him  to  re-double  his 
precautions  and  replenish  his  wavering  circle  of  fire,  through  which 
the  wild  Phantom  horde  threatened  at  every  moment  to  burst  in 
a  great  torrent  of  destroying  fiends  of  Darkness. 

Distant  rumbling  as  of  thunder  resounded  above  us  and 
approached  us,  as  fresh  and  yet  ever  fresh  hordes  of  black  Spirits 
gathered  round.  The  house  appeared  to  rock  and  sway  with  the 
assaults  of  this  mighty  multitude  of  unknown  foes,  and  as  time 
passed  on,  and  drop  by  drop  of  the  precious  mixture  fell  into  the 
golden  bowl,  the  excitement  around  us  seemed  to  approach  a 
climax,  and  each  moment,  methought,  would  be  our  last. 

And  now  a  change  passed  over  the  vital  fluid  distilling  into 
the  golden  bowl.  A  crimson  cloud  arose  above  it,  then  changed 
into  rose  color,  and  faded  into  a  delicate  pink;  then  changed  again 
to  violet  and  lilac,  then  into  blue,  green  and  yellow,  and  lastly 
into  silver  and  white,  till  a  glow  as  of  a  rainbow  cloud  hung  above 
the  mystic  jar  containing  it. 

At  this  moment  I  became  conscious  that  in  the  darkness  of  the 
curtains  where  I  sat  there  gleamed  a  Star—  a  faint  Star,  yet  there 
it  shone !  And  as  I  turned  to  gaze  at  it  I  saw  again  my  Angel  of 
Light,  unseen  through  all  the  long  years  since  my  childhood,  but 
visible  again  at  last.  She  looked  not  however  as  I  had  seen  her 
before,  radiant  and  bright,  her  robes  glittering  with  Silver  Stars. 
She  was  dim  and  misty,  as  though  I  beheld  her  through  a  cloud  of 
mist.  Her  face,  too,  was  sad.  Her  eyes  looked  as  though  she 
wept.  Her  long  garments  seemed  to  cling  to  her,  as  though 
drenched  with  her  own  tears.  She  held  out  her  arms  to  me  im- 
ploringly, and  beckoned  to  me  to  come. 

And  I  arose  to  follow  her,  for  I  could  not  resist  the  pleading 
of  her  looks,  and  my  heart  was  stirred  at  the  sight  of  her  by  the 
old  passionate  feeling  of  love  and  longing  to  clasp  her  to  my  heart. 
I  forgot  the  experiments.  I  had  well  nigh  forgotten  Jelal-ud-din, 
as  I  rose  to  follow  my  White  Angel  from  that  dread  room  of  mys- 
tery and  fear. 

As  I  raised  a  corner  of  the  curtain  to  pass  out,  I  looked  back. 
There  stood  Jelal-ud-din,  bending  like  an  old,  old  man  as  he 


74  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

stooped  over  the  precious  golden  bowl,  almost  filled  now  with  the 
drops  of  life-giving  fluid.  His  hands  were  out-stretched  like  the 
claws  of  a  bird  of  prey  that  waits  to  clutch  its  expected  food.  His 
eyes  were  fixed  with  greedy  expectancy  upon  the  last  few  drops 
as  they  slowly  fell  one  by  one  into  the  bowl.  He  seemed  lost  to 
all  thoughts  but  the  one  great  thought  of  self-preservation.  Above 
his  head  floated  the  rainbow  cloud,  around  him  glimmered  the 
ring  of  pale  blue  flame,  and  outside  the  fierce  Phantoms  fought 
like  maniacs  in  their  frantic  efforts  to  break  through. 

I  dropped  the  curtain  and  passed  out,  impelled  by  a  power 
stronger  than  my  sense  of  fidelity  to  Jelal-ud-din,  stronger  than 
any  influence  I  had  yet  felt,  and  followed  the  figure  of  my  White 
Angel  as  she  led  me  on,  floating  before  me,  her  head  half  turned 
to  see  that  I  still  followed,  until  we  reached  the  place  where  my 
horse  was  stabled.  There  she  paused,  and  pointing  to  the  door, 
vanished  from  my  sight. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  MAGIC  SCROLL 

As  my  White  Angel  disappeared  I  remembered  my  Master, 
and  full  of  remorse  at  having  thus  abandoned  him  I  hurried  back 
to  the  house. 

As  I  entered  the  room  I  saw  that  the  mystic  circles  of  flame  had 
died  out,  although  the  fire  still  burnt  in  the  brazier,  and  by  its 
light  I  saw  that  the  vessel  for  distilling  the  Elixir  lay  on  the  floor; 
near  it  lay  the  golden  bowl,  overturned  and  empty,  save  for  a 
single  drop  of  the  Golden  Fluid.  Beside  it  lay  the  Sorcerer  him- 
self—dead. It  did  not  need  that  I  should  look  at  his  distorted 
limbs,  twisted  and  contorted  in  all  the  agonies  of  a  violent  death; 
at  his  eyes,  starting  from  their  sockets  and  staring  in  wide  open 
fear  of  some  unknown  thing  of  terror;  at  his  half  open  mouth  from 
which  the  swollen  tongue  protruded,  and  from  which  some  drops 
of  black  blood  oozed,  to  tell  me  that  he  was  past  all  human  aid. 
His  robe  had  fallen  back  from  one  arm,  which  was  bent  above  his 
head  as  if  though  to  ward  off  an  attack.  On  the  bare  wrist  were 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  75 

the  marks  of  giant  fingers,  scorched  and  burnt  into  the  flesh  like 
the  marks  from  a  hot  iron;  and  on  his  throat  were  marks  of  a 
similar  hand,  which  had  evidently  strangled  him. 

I  drew  back  from  the  fearful  sight  in  horror  and  remorse,  and 
my  first  thought  was  to  fly  from  the  accursed  place.  Then  I 
bethought  me  of  the  Sorcerer's  many  valuable  manuscripts,  con- 
taining in  some  of  them  knowledge  that  was  of  priceless  value, 
and  not  all  evil,  embodying  as  it  did  the  patient  researches  of  many 
years  of  labor  in  the  pursuit  of  scientific  knowledge,  and  I  knew 
that  so  soon  as  Jelal-ud-din's  death  should  be  discovered  his  house 
would  be  pillaged  and  his  papers  destroyed  or  carried  away. 

I  resolved,  therefore,  to  place  them  for  safety  in  the  vault 
beneath  the  fountain,  until  opportunity  was  afforded  to  me  to 
take  them  away.  I  accordingly  put  as  many  of  them  as  I  could 
there,  taking  with  me  three,  which  I  knew  referred  only  to  the 
practice  of  the  medical  art.  I  also  took  with  me  the  black  wand 
and  the  magic  mirror. 

Having  gathered  up  my  own  possessions,  which  were  in  my 
room,  together  with  some  gems  of  value  which  Jelal-ud-din  had 
at  various  times  given  to  me,  I  returned  to  the  room  where  the 
dead  man  lay,  and  was  about  to  leave  the  house  when  my  eyes 
fell  upon  the  rapidly  stiffening  figure  of  the  unfortunate  Sorcerer, 
and  I  thought  that  I  would  throw  a  cover  over  the  ghastly  face. 
I  could  not  bring  myself  to  touch  him,  to  close  those  staring  eyes 
or  straighten  those  twisted  limbs,  but  as  I  took  up  one  of  the  tiger 
skins  to  place  over  him  I  saw  the  papyrus  scroll  within  the  bosom 
of  his  robe,  and  filled  with  curiosity  to  read  its  secret,  I  drew  it 
out  and  thrust  it  into  my  girdle.  As  I  did  so  I  could  not  but 
notice  that  the  same  extraordinary  change  which  had  once  at 
least,  to  my  knowledge,  passed  over  the  living  body  of  the  Magi- 
cian had  come  over  it  now.  Since  I  had  first  beheld  it  the  dead 
body  had  begun  to  shrink  and  shrivel  up.  The  yellow  skin  hung 
in  a  thousand  creases  on  the  shrunken  frame.  The  look  of  age 
was  beyond  anything  one  could  imagine,  and  in  that  shrivelled 
withered  form  it  was  difficult  to  recognize  Jelal-ud-din.  It  was 
as  though  he  was  turning  into  dust  before  my  eyes,  and  I  wondered 
as  I  looked  down  upon  him  whether  there  would  be  more  than  a 
heap  of  bones,  a  little  dust  and  a  pile  of  clothing,  by  the  time  the 
black  slave  Taki  returned  and  his  master's  death  was  discovered. 
It  was  as  though  the  Earth  was  claiming  all  at  once  the  decaying 
body  of  which  it  had  been  so  long  defrauded. 


76  THE  STORY  OF  AHRNIZIMAN 

As  I  turned  away  and  left  the  dead  Magician  amidst  the  para- 
phernalia of  his  mystic  art,  which  had  proved  so  powerless  to  save 
him  from  the  grim  hand  of  Death,  I  felt  as  if  the  spell  which  had 
hung  over  me  for  four  years  was  broken  at  last,  and  I  had  awak- 
ened as  from  a  dream,  restored  to  my  freedom  of  will  once  more. 
It  appeared  as  though  a  sudden  access  of  life  and  vigor  filled  my 
veins.  The  strange  lassitude  that  had  of  late  oppressed  me  with 
a  feeling  of  having  all  my  limbs  weighed  down  by  invisible  weights, 
and  which  deprived  me  of  the  energy  to  think  or  plan  for  myself, 
was  gone.  I  felt  once  more  that  I  could  do  or  dare,  not  as  the 
tool  of  another,  but  as  one  who  fights  and  labors  for  himself. 

As  I  passed  into  the  grey  light  of  morning  I  thought  of  that 
other  morning  four  years  before,  when  I  had  come  from  my  first 
visit  to  Jelal-ud-din  in  that  house  of  darkness,  and  passed  into  the 
clear  light  of  the  dawning  day;  and  I  questioned  within  myself 
whether  the  knowledge  I  had  gained  had  indeed  been  worth  the 
price  I  had  paid  for  it,  resolving,  as  I  thought  over  all  these  things, 
that  I  would  turn  to  a  good  use  on  behalf  of  my  fellow  men  the 
wisdom  I  had  learned  amidst  so  much  evil. 

Having  saddled  my  horse  I  lost  no  time  in  quitting  the  city, 
for  I  knew  that  under  the  circumstances  of  Jelal-ud -din's  death, 
at  a  time  when  he  and  I  had  been  alone  together,  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  convince  any  one  that  I  was  innocent  of  his  murder, 
and  I  resolved  to  put  a  wide  space  between  myself  and  the  dead 
man  before  the  death  should  be  discovered. 

I  rode  onward,  avoiding  all  villages  and  towns,  till  night  fell, 
when  I  encamped  upon  a  rocky  eminence,  and  lighted  a  fire  with 
brushwood  to  keep  away  the  beasts  of  prey  which  prowled  around. 
I  did  not  venture  to  sleep,  although  I  was  growing  terribly  fatigued 
by  the  excitement  and  the  exertions  of  the  past  day  and  night,  but 
I  lay  down  beside  my  horse,  and  drawing  the  papyrus  roll  from 
my  girdle  resolved  to  keep  myself  awake  by  reading  it,  which, 
thanks  to  my  studies  with  Jelal-ud-din,  I  was  able  to  do. 

It  began  by  setting  forth  the  various  means  by  which  the  vital 
fluid  could  be  renewed,  and  in  what  substances  it  could  be  found 
in  the  purest  state.  Then  it  gave  some  directions  for  extracting 
it,  and  went  on  to  explain,  that  for  those  who  had  already  renewed 
their  span  of  life  to  thrice  the  period  alloted  unto  man  it  required 
a  stronger  and  yet  ever  stronger  degree  of  power  in  the  vital  Eilxir 
to  enable  the  atoms  of  the  body  to  hold  together.  It  then  went 
on  to  say  that,  as  with  each  renewal  of  life  the  crumbling  body 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  77 

required  yet  more  and  more  of  the  vitality  to  be  incessantly  poured 
into  it  as  food,  the  writer  advised  that  either  the  fast  decaying  body 
should  be  abandoned  and  a  fresh  body  from  which  the  lawful 
Spirit  owner  had  been  ejected,  should  be  taken  possession  of,  or 
else  that  some  young  and  vigorous  person,  in  whose  veins  the 
blood  yet  coursed  warm  and  red  and  full  of  vitality,  should  be 
kept  in  close  proximity  to  the  seeker  after  perpetual  life,  in  order 
that  the  young  fresh  life  should  feed  with  its  magnetism  the  one 
whose  body  was  old,  and  thus  save  it  from  the  too  rapid  waste  of 
the  precious  fluid  it  had  absorbed. 

"Or,"  said  the  manuscript,  "if  thou  dost  prefer  it,  thou  seeker 
after  endless  life,  thou  canst  suck  as  a  vampire-spirit  the  life  from 
many  a  slumbering  mortal,  returning  to  thine  own  mortal  cover- 
ing ere  dawn  to  renew  its  life  with  the  life  thou  hast  thus  gained. 
Yet  beware  that  you  dost  not  try  this  means  of  sustaining  life  after 
thou  hast  for  the  fifth  time  drunk  of  the  great  Elixir,  for  by  the 
time  thou  hast  tasted  of  it  for  the  fifth  time  thou  canst  no  more 
with  safety  leave  thy  crumbling  shell,  else  will  it  turn  into  swift 
decay  and  leave  thy  Spirit  without  mortal  covering.  There  be 
some  that  claim  that  they  can  construct  anew  a  body  for  them- 
selves. Yea,  and  it  is  even  so.  Yet  this  body  will  hold  together 
for  so  brief  a  space  of  time  it  were  not  possible  to  cling  to  Earth 
by  such  means.  From  time  to  time  the  Spirit  may  manifest 
itself  through  such  a  body,  but  it  can  enjoy  none  of  the  pleasures 
of  the  Earth  life  while  in  it,  since  all  its  efforts  must  be  directed 
to  preserving  it  from  disintegration.  If,  then,  thou  dost  desire  to 
live  the  life  of  mortal  men,  then  thou  must  steal  a  body  from  an- 
other, or  else  steal  from  many  the  mortal  life-essence  which  shall 
sustain  thine  own. 

"There  is  yet  a  third  and  darker  way  by  which  those  who  find 
they  cannot  possess  themselves  of  the  body  of  another  may  yet 
steal  from  him  his  young,  fresh  life.  Let  there  be  an  Elixir  made, 
the  strongest  and  most  powerful  that  can  be  distilled,  and  when  the 
rainbow  cloud  shall  form,  and  the  last  golden  drops  fall  within  the 
bowl,  let  the  man  with  strong  young  life  throbbing  in  all  his  veins 
draw  near  and  touch  the  vessel  wherein  is  contained  this 
strong  Elixir,  for  as  the  stronger  body  doth  attract  the  weaker, 
as  the  larger  draws  to  it  the  smaller,  as  the  loadstone  draws  to  it 
the  iron,  so  will  the  powerful  life  within  the  bowl  draw  to  it  the  life 
contained  within  the  mortal  body  of  the  youth,  and  as  the  mortal 
body,  deprived  thus  suddenly  of  its  young  life,  shall  sink  upon  the 


78  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

ground,  he  who  can  drink  at  once  of  the  grand  Elixir  shall  absorb 
both  the  life  that  was  contained  within  the  body  of  the  youth  and 
that  contained  in  the  magic  liquid — so  shall  he  renew  his  life  for 
yet  another  hundred  years,  or  it  may  be  even  more.  Yet  let  him 
beware!  The  Powers  of  Darkness  are  not  mocked,  for  behold 
*********** 

I  had  read  so  far,  and  was  about  to  turn  the  page,  when  from 
the  darkness  of  the  night  there  came  forth  a  hand !  A  gigantic 
hand,  that  terminated  at  the  wrist,  which  grasped  the  papyrus 
scroll  and  snatched  it  from  my  hold,  vanishing  with  it  as  suddenly 
as  it  had  appeared. 

Thus  did  the  secrets  it  contained  remain  in  greater  part  a 
a  secret  still. 

But  I  had  read  enough.  I  knew  now  why  Jelal-ud-dm  had 
been  so  disturbed  by  the  reading  of  it,  and  why  he  no  longer  dared 
to  meet  my  gaze.  And  I  recognized  with  an  emotion  of  thank- 
fulness the  sudden  death  from  which  my  Angel  of  Light  had 
saved  me. 


CHAPTER  XV 

I  MEET  ZULEIKA 

I  made  my  way  through  Persia  into  the  Hill  country  of  Afghan- 
istan, and  in  the  city  of  Herat  I  took  up  my  abode.  I  had  resolved 
to  practice  as  a  professor  of  the  medical  art,  and  with  the  knowl- 
edge taught  me  by  Jelal-ud-din  I  wrought  many  successful  cures. 
With  the  darker  mysteries  I  tampered  not,  for  the  horror  of  my 
Master's  death  was  yet  strong  upon  me;  and  although  I  kept  his 
magic  wand  and  the  mirror,  and  certain  other  things,  I  did  not  use 
them,  and  such  gifts  of  Divination  as  I  possessed  I  used  at  this 
time  only  to  aid  me  in  my  work  of  healing  those  who  came  to  me 
for  help. 

Ere  long  I  made  for  myself  an  honorable  reputation,  and  was 
sent  for  by  even  the  highest  class  of  citizens,  and  for  a  time  I  re- 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  79 

mained  quietly  and  contentedly  living  as  one  highly  respected  and 
esteemed . 

And  now  I  bethought  myself  of  taking  unto  me  another  wife. 
I  had  learned  from  the  manuscripts  of  Jelal-ud-din  how  to  guard 
my  body  when  my  Spirit  should  be  absent  from  it,  and  I  had  taken 
occasion  to  go  thus  unknown  to  visit  the  wife  whom  I  had  left 
among  the  robber  tents  in  the  mountains  of  Persia. 

I  found  her,  as  I  expected,  already  wed  unto  my  rival  Hadji. 
The  old  Chief  was  dead,  and  Hadji  ruled  in  his  stead  over  the 
tribe,  while  Dilferib  ruled  with  no  gentle  hand  over  Hadji. 

I  therefore  felt  myself  to  be  at  liberty  to  find  another  partner, 
and  began  to  look  round  at  all  the  fair  maidens  whose  parents 
I  knew.  My  idea  of  love  had  been  somewhat  sullied  in  my  life 
with  Jelal-ud-din.  Women  no  longer  appeared  such  sacred 
divinities  to  me,  and  I  had  begun  to  despair  of  ever  meeting  one 
who  could  inspire  in  my  heart  a  romantic  attachment.  Little  did  I 
dream  that  the  crisis  of  my  life,  so  far  as  love  was  concerned,  was 
so  near  at  hand. 

There  was  an  Arabian  merchant  in  the  city  with  whom  I  was 
somewhat  intimate,  and  on  my  mentioning  my  desire  to  find  a  wife, 
he  invited  me  to  visit  his  family.  He  had,  he  said,  three  daugh- 
ters, each  of  whom  was  esteemed  to  be  beautiful,  and  I  might 
choose,  if  I  pleased,  one  of  them. 

Accordingly  I  was  invited  to  a  feast,  after  which  these  maidens 
were  each  in  turn  to  unveil  before  me. 

The  merchant  had  a  niece  as  well  as  three  daughters,  and  as 
the  youngest  daughter  had  already  set  her  affections  upon  a  youth, 
it  was  agreed  among  the  girls  themselves  that  the  niece  should 
quietly  take  her  place  without  telling  the  merchant,  for  as  the 
youngest  daughter  was  considered  the  most  beautiful  it  was  feared 
that  I  might  select  her. 

The  niece,  whose  name  was  Zuleika,  was  the  orphan  daughter 
of  the  merchant's  brother,  who  had  settled  in  Turkey  and  married 
a  Circassian  lady  of  great  beauty  but  faithless  disposition,  who  had 
escaped  with  her  lover,  leaving  behind  the  little  daughter  who 
was  their  only  child.  At  the  father's  death  this  girl  had  been 
adopted  by  the  good  merchant,  Abou  Hassan,  and  brought  up 
with  his  own  daughters. 

I  need  not  dwell  upon  the  entertainment  given  to  me  by  the 
merchant,  nor  describe  the  charms  of  the  two  elder  daughters, 
whose  blushing  faces  were  momentarily  unveiled  to  my  eyes  with- 


8o  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

out  exciting  more  than  a  passing  sensation  of  admiration  for  their 
comeliness. 

The  third  girl,  whom  the  merchant  imagined  to  be  his  young- 
est daughter,  drew  her  veil  very  slightly  aside,  showing  to  me  a 
face  which  surpassed  the  others  in  beauty  of  feature  and  perfec- 
tion of  coloring.  But  it  was  not  her  loveliness  which  caused  the 
sudden  throb  of  my  heart,  the  quick  rush  of  blood  through  all  my 
veins,  but  the  fact  that  as  this  third  maiden  unveiled  before  me  I 
recognized  the  long  sought  for  face  of  the  girl  I  had  seen  in  the 
magic  mirror,  on  that  eventful  night  when  I  had  first  visited  Jelal- 
ud-din. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

MY  MARRIAGE  WITH  ZULEIKA 

The  worthy  merchant  Abou  Hassan  was  somewhat  chagrined 
when  he  found  that  his  niece  and  not  his  daughter  had  been 
selected  to  become  my  wife,  and  he  was  angry  at  the  trick  which 
had  been  played  upon  him.  However,  being  somewhat  of  a 
philosopher,  he  consoled  himself  with  the  reflection  that  in  any 
case  it  was  well  that  Zuleika  should  be  provided  for,  and  gave  his 
assent  to  our  union  not  ungraciously.  I  pressed  for  an  early 
marriage,  for  if  the  mere  reflection  of  this  girl's  face  projected  to 
me  in  a  mirror  had  so  entranced  my  senses,  her  bodily  presence 
had  doubly  enchained  my  heart,  and  I  was  consumed  by  the  most 
impatient  desire  to  marry  her  with  as  little  delay  as  possible. 

Of  the  strange  warning  against  her  which  her  appearance  in 
the  mirror  had  conveyed  to  me,  I  thought  but  little,  attributing 
to  the  influence  of  Jelal-ud-din's  room  all  that  had  conveyed  a 
suggestion  of  evil  in  Zuleika  herself.  She  was  but  a  young  girl 
brought  up  in  the  strict  seclusion  of  her  uncle's  home,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  look  at  the  guileless  innocence  of  her  lovely  face, 
with  its  modestly  drooping  dark^eyes  that  would  scarce  raise 
themselves  to  look  at  me,  and  still  associate  a  thought  of  evil  with 
her.  No!  I  felt  sure  she  was  an  Angel  of  goodness  and  purity, 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  81 

and  I  longed  with  all  my  soul  to  hasten  the  day  which  should  make 
her  my  own. 

The  jewels  which  had  been  given  to  me  by  Jelal-ud-din  were, 
as  I  have  said,  of  considerable  value,  and  I  had  thought  it  as  well 
to  part  with  them  to  a  merchant  who  dealt  in  precious  stones.  I 
had,  moreover,  made  a  good  deal  of  money  by  the  practice  of  the 
healing  art,  so  that  I  was  in  a  position  to  make  my  presents  to  the 
bride  and  her  family  both  numerous  and  costly,  and  I  was  accord- 
ingly treated  with  a  corresponding  amount  of  favor.  Zuleika 
herself  I  did  not  again  behold  unveiled,  but  I  was  permitted  several 
interviews  in  the  presence  of  her  family,  and  the  impression  she 
had  made  upon  me  was,  if  possible,  deepened  each  time. 

At  last  all  the  many  customs  and  ceremonies  attending  a  mar- 
riage in  the  East  had  been  complied  with  and  I  was  permitted 
to  take  my  bride  home  to  my  own  house  at  last.  The  time  which 
followed  was  one  of  such  intense  happiness,  of  such  an  intoxica- 
tion of  love,  that  even  now,  after  all  this  lapse  of  time,  I  sigh  as  I 
look  back  upon  it,  and  would  fain,  were  it  but  possible,  recall  again, 
if  but  for  an  hour,  the  illusions  and  the  bliss  of  that  time.  That 
Zuleika  should  love  me  as  much  as  I  loved  her  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected. Only  in  the  perfect  union  between  twin  souls  is  found 
the  perfect  unity  of  love,  and  Zuleika  was  in  many  respects  the 
opposite  of  my  true  ideal,  although  she  had  so  completely  usurped 
the  place  of  it  that  I  could  no  longer  dream  of  any  perfections 
which  were  not  possessed  by  her.  She  was  clever,  witty,  and  full  of 
resources.  She  never  palled  upon  nor  wearied  me,  as  poor  Dilferib 
had  done.  Zuleika  seemed  to  divine  my  thoughts  ere  I  could  utter 
them,  and  gratify  my  wishes  when  they  were  but  half  formed  in 
my  own  mind.  Although  ignorant  of  life,  her  intuitions  were  so 
keen  she  never  appeared  awkward  or  at  a  loss,  even  under  the 
most  trying  circumstances.  By  nature  a  coquette,  she  learnt 
almost  at  once  the  arts  by  which  women  enslave  men,  and  make 
the  cleverest  and  most  worldly  of  us  mere  puppets  in  their  hands. 
She  was  an  actress  by  instinct,  and  "it  came  more  easily  and 
naturally  to  her  to  feign  an  emotion  than  to  feel  one,  for  she  was 
herself  incapable  of  real  deep  feeling  of  any  kind,  save  in-as-much 
as  she  desired  always  to  enjoy  the  highest  measure  of  comfort 
possible  for  herself.  She  could  not  understand  the  absolute 
devotion  with  which  I  worshipped  her,  the  passionate  jealousy  I 
suppressed  at  beholding  her  bestow  her  caresses  upon  even  a 
pet  bird,  lest  I  should  be  thereby  robbed  of  even  a  little  of  the 


82  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

love  I  desired  to  make  all  my  own.  She  never  guessed  how  I 
hungered  for  her  kisses,  how  I  trembled  and  how  my  heart  beat 
with  the  wildest  emotion  at  every  touch  of  her  soft  hand.  Through 
how  many  long  nights  have  I  lain  awake,  unable  to  sleep  by  reason 
of  the  fever  of  thoughts  which  burnt  like  fire  in  my  brain,  watch- 
ing her  as  she  lay  serenely  asleep  in  my  arms,  noting  every  feature 
of  her  face,  every  shadow  of  expression,  and  wondering  of  what 
she  dreamed,  longing  with  passionate  vehemence  to  know  her 
thoughts,  and  whether  her  dreams  were  of  me  and  of  my  love. 
I  would  have  given  so  much  to  read  her  thoughts,  and  to  know 
what  share  I  had  in  the  emotions  of  her  soul.  But  although  she 
could  read  my  thoughts,  hers  were  a  sealed  book  to  me,  of  which 
I  could  never,  with  all  my  powers  of  divination,  read  one  line. 

I  think  there  were  times  when  my  vehemence  bewildered  and 
wearied  her.  I  exacted  so  much  that  she  grew  at  last  to  be  some- 
what tired  of  the  endless  demands  I  made  upon  her  love.  Her 
little  bits  of  acting  were  done  listlessly,  and  in  my  disappointment 
and  suspicious  jealousy  I  would  reproach  her  with  coldness  and 
indifference,  till  her  large,  beautiful  eyes  would  regard  me  in 
languid  astonishment.  She  was  quite  happy,  why  could  not  I 
be  so?  she  would  ask,  and  then  she  would  rouse  herself  to  bestow 
upon  me  the  coveted  caress,  which  for  a  time  removed  the  cloud 
from  my  brow,  the  suspicion  that  she  was  indifferent  to  me  from 
my  heart. 

I  do  not  think  it  is  ever  possible  for  natures  such  as  mine  to  be 
perfectly  happy  upon  earth,  where  the  clouds  of  uncertainty,  the 
disappointments  and  disillusionments  that  are  inseparable  from 
all  earthly  things,  perpetually  afford  food  for  jealousy  and  sus- 
picion, and  where  the  hunger  of  the  heart  seldom  finds  full  satis- 
faction. But  in  spite  of  many  drawbacks  I  think  that  during 
the  first  years  of  my  union  with  Zuleika  I  tasted  as  full  a  measure 
of  happiness  as  ever  falls  to  the  lot  of  mankind;  and  certainly 
had  I  known  what  the  years  which  followed  were  to  bring  to  me 
I  should  have  valued  the  comparative  happiness  of  that  time  still 
more  highly  than  I  did. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  83 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  SON  OF  ARTEMISIA 

I  had  been  married  a  little  over  three  years,  and  although  no 
child  had  been  given  to  crown  my  hopes  I  was  too  deeply  in  love 
with  Zuleika  to  feel  this  as  a  great  disappointment,  dearly  as  I 
loved  children  and  greatly  as  I  had  desired  to  have  a  child  of  my 
own. 

My  fame  as  a  physician  had  spread  for  many  a  mile  around 
Herat,  and  I  was  sent  for  by  the  highest  officials  of  the  Court  of 
the  Afghan  Princes.  I  was  not  greatly  surprised,  therefore,  to 
receive  a  summons  to  attend  at  the  Palace,  as  a  young  kinsman 
of  the  Ameer  had  been  seized  with  violent  convulsions  which  no 
one  was  able  to  relieve.  The  Grand  Vizier,  who  was  one  of  my 
patients,  having  mentioned  my  name  to  the  Prince,  I  was  sent 
for  in  all  haste. 

On  being  shown  into  the  chamber  where  the  sufferer  lay  I 
found  that  he  was  a  young  man  of  about  my  own  age,  handsome 
but  somewhat  effeminate  looking,  and  evidently  weak  of  will.  A 
glance  at  him  showed  me  that  this  was  no  common  case  of 
epilepsy,  but  that  the  unfortunate  Prince  was  the  victim  of  a  form 
of  Demoniac  possession,  which  is  far  more  common  than  is  usually 
supposed.  To  my  clairvoyant  sight  it  appeared  as  if  a  black 
spirit  of  a  low  type  was  making  frequent  and  violent  efforts  to 
withdraw  the  rightful  possessor  of  the  young  man's  body,  and 
enter  into  that  covering  himself,  much  as  one  man  may  forcibly 
wrench  another's  cloak  from  off  his  shoulders  in  spite  of  his  efforts 
at  resistance.  The  fearful  contortions  of  the  Prince  were  caused 
by  the  resistance  of  his  half  conscious  spirit  against  the  would  be 
despoiler. 

Hastily  uttering  some  words  which  I  had  learnt  from  Jelal-ud- 
din,  and  knew  to  possess  a  powerful  effect  upon  spirits  of  this 
class,  I  advanced  slowly  towards  the  Prince,  keeping  my  eyes 
steadily  fixed  upon  the  dark  being  struggling  with  him,  and 
throwing  all  the  powers  of  my  will  into  my  determination  to  make 


84  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

him  release  the  young  man.  The  dark  being  cowered  down 
before  me,  uttering  fearful  howls  of  rage,  which,  owing  to  the 
closeness  of  the  rapport  between  them  seemed  to  come  from  the 
unfortunate  young  man.  As  I  laid  my  hand  upon  him,  however, 
he  became  suddenly  silent,  his  limbs  relaxed  and  he  fell  in  a  dead 
faint  upon  the  floor,  while  the  dark  spirit  seemed  to  crawl  like 
a  snake  along  the  floor,  wriggling  its  body  away  like  a  reptile. 
As  it  withdrew  it  turned  its  head  and  looked  at  me,  seeming  to 
spit  out  its  anger  like  venom  upon  me,  and  showing  to  my  aston- 
ished eyes  the  face  of  a  black  slave.  The  face  and  the  action 
were  so  exactly  those  of  the  vision  shown  me  in  Jelal-ud-din's 
mirror,  that  for  half  a  moment  I  had  almost  forgotten  the  poor 
patient,  till  the  voice  of  the  Ameer  himself  recalled  me  to  a  recol- 
lection of  where  I  was. 

A  few  simple  remedies  soon  restored  the  young  man  to  his 
senses,  and  although  terribly  exhausted  he  soon  began  to  regain 
his  strength. 

In  reply  to  my  inquiries,  I  was  told  that  he  had  been  subject 
to  these  attacks  for  some  years,  and  when  under  their  influence 
exhibited  symptoms  which  had  alarmed  and  distressed  his  family 
so  much  that  they  feared  for  his  reason  if  not  for  his  life,  since  the 
last  few  attacks  had  reduced  him  to  so  terrible  a  condition  of 
exhaustion  it  had  been  feared  that  each  convulsion  would  prove 
his  death  struggle. 

I  was  highly  praised  for  my  successful  treatment,  dismissed 
with  a  very  handsome  present,  and  commanded  to  visit  my 
patient  again  the  next  day.  My  friend  the  Vizier  assured  me,  as 
he  conducted  me  from  the  room,  that  my  fortune  was  made,  since 
the  young  Prince  whom  I  had  relieved  was  no  less  a  person  than 
the  only  legitimate  son  of  the  King  of  Persia. 

On  visiting  my  illustrious  patient  next  morning  I  found  him 
quite  recovered,  and  contrary  to  his  experience  after  former 
attacks,  very  little  the  worse  for  the  present  one,  and  I  was  again 
highly  complimented  upon  my  skill. 

For  a  week  I  continued  my  daily  visits,  and  then  was  sent  for 
once  more  in  a  hurry  because  the  Prince  of  Persia  had  been  again 
seized  with  one  of  these  strange  and  (to  those  around  him)  unac- 
countable fits  of  convulsions,  although  on  this  occasion  the  seizure 
was  much  less  violent. 

As  before,  I  found  the  cause  to  be  the  near  approach  of  the 
black  spirit,  who  although  the  influence  of  my  strong  will  inter- 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  85 

posed  a  barrier  between  him  and  the  Prince  that  prevented  him 
from  again  touching  him,  was  yet  able  to  draw  near  enough  to 
exert  a  considerable  influence  over  him. 

Since  my  first  encounter  with  this  dark  being  I  had  studied 
one  of  Jelal-ud-din's  valuable  manuscripts,  and  was  therefore 
better  able  to  deal  with  the  obsessing  spirit,  whom  I  quickly 
banished  in  a  very  summary  fashion,  without  throwing  the  patient 
into  a  state  of  unconsciousness. 

I  was  now  invited  by  the  Prince  to  enter  his  service,  and 
attach  myself  permanently  to  his  suite,  either  as  a  physician  or  in 
any  other  capacity  I  might  prefer. 

" Surely,"  said  the  young  Prince,  "you  have  not  spent  all  your 
days  as  a  student  of  deep  mysteries.  Methinks  thou  hast  more 
the  bearing  and  appearance  of  a  soldier  than  a  follower  of  that 
art  of  healing  which  seemeth  most  appropriate  to  gray  hair  and 
slow  blood.  Thine  eyes,  my  friend,  did  glisten  I  noticed  as  thou 
beheldest  the  warriors  who  paraded  before  us  the  other  day,  and 
I  observed  that  thou  didst  sit  upon  thy  steed  as  one  who  hath 
learnt  to  maintain  his  seat  in  the  saddle  under  all  difficulties." 

The  blood  mounted  to  my  cheek,  and  the  recollections  of  the 
wild,  free  life  of  the  mountains  awoke  in  my  mind  as  I  listened  to 
this  speech,  and  I  bowed  low  to  the  Prince,  as  I  answered  proudly, 
"  I  have  been  many  things  in  even  my  short  life,  Most  Gracious 
Sire,  and  methinks  I  could  yet  handle  a  sword  and  spear  in  a 
manner  which  would  not  disgrace  even  a  soldier  of  your 
Highness. 

"Wouldst  thou  then  care  to  follow  my  fortunes,  not  only  as 
my  trusted  physician,  but  as  one  of  my  fighting,  men?  If  so 
thou  hast  but  to  express  thy  desire  and  I  shall  grant  it  to  thee, 
for  of  a  truth  do  I  feel  that  I  owe  my  life  and  my  reason  unto  thy 
skill,  and  I  would  fain  reward  thee  as  a  Prince  should." 

For  one  moment  I  was  so  delighted  at  the  prospect  of  an 
active  life  and  the  chance  of  winning  distinction  on  the  field  of 
battle,  that  I  was  about  to  accept  the  Prince's  offer.  But  I 
thought  of  my  wife,  and  of  how  I  was  to  leave  her.  How  I  would 
have  to  part  from  her  entirely  for  a  time;  and  my  love  and  my 
jealous  fears  proved  stronger  even  than  my  ambition.  With  a 
low  bow,  expressive  at  once  of  my  sense  of  the  honor  which  the 
Prince  wished  to  bestow  upon  me,  and  of  my  deep  obligation  to 
him,  I  answered,  "Sire,  it  is  with  the  utmost  reluctance  that  I 
hesitate  to  avail  myself  of  the  honor  p  oposed  to  me.  There  is 


86  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

no  career  I  would  desire  more  than  that  of  arms.  But  I  have 
ties  which  bind  me  more  strongly  than  ambition,  and,  if  your  most 
Gracious  Highness  will  pardon  the  seeming  indifference  to  the 
favor  offered  to  me,  I  would  choose  rather  to  continue  in  my 
present  career,  since  to  follow  your  Highness  through  the  present 
campaign  I  must  leave  this  city  of  Herat." 

The  Prince  frowned,  and  seemed  greatly  annoyed  by  my 
answer.  Princes  are  not  wont  to  find  their  favors  so  coolly  re- 
ceived, and  he  answered  coldly,  "It  is  enough,  Sir  Physician 
thou  art  dismissed  from  our  presence." 

"Oh,  Ahrinziman,"  said  my  friend  the  Vizier,  in  a  low  voice, 
as  we  left  the  presence  chamber,  "verily  thou  wert  born  under 
an  unlucky  star,  since  thou  hast  not  the  wit  to  avail  thyself  of  the 
favor  of  Princes  when  it  is  showered  upon  thee.  Who,  or  what, 
is  this  wonderful  attraction  that  keeps  thee  in  Herat,  when 
fortune  points  the  way  to  Persia  ?' ' 

"It  is  my  wife,"  said  I,  unguardedly.  "I  could  not  take  her 
with  me  on  the  long,  forced  marches  of  the  Persian  army,  as  they 
go  to  quell  the  revolts  in  this  distant  province,  and  I  like  not  to 
leave  her  behind  me." 

"Thy  wife,"  said  he,  laughing,  "if  that  is  all  it  is  not 
impossible  that  thou  mayest  follow  the  Prince  of  Persia  yet. 
Surely  thou  could st  arrange  for  her  safety  and  seclusion  in  some 
way?" 

"I  know  not,"  replied  I  stiffly.  "But  I  have  already  given 
my  answer  to  the  Prince,  and  been  dismissed  by  him.  The  matter 
is  therefore  at  an  end." 

The  Vizier  laughed  again,  and  his  eyes  twinkled  slily  as  he 
said,  "Go  to,  Ahrinziman,  tell  thy  wife  of  the  offer  thou  hast 
refused,  and  see  if  she  will  commend  thy  devotion  to  her." 

As  we  had  now  reached  the  outer  door  I  parted  from  the 
Vizier  without  further  remarks,  and  as  I  hurried  home  I  resolved 
to  tell  Zuleika  and  see  if  she  were  truly  pleased  to  think  I  was  not 
going  to  leave  her.  The  Vizier's  words  had  awakened  an  uneasy 
suspicion  which  half  slumbered  in  my  mind,  and  I  was  by  no 
means  too  certain  that  Zuleika  would  give  me  the  thanks  for 
refusing  the  Prince's  offer  which  I  felt  I  merited. 

And  the  Vizier  was  right.  She  heard  me  with  a  mixture  of 
surprise  and  pleasure  till  I  told  her  how  I  had  refused  the  pro- 
posed favor  and  elected  to  remain  in  Herat,  and  then  she  expressed 
her  disappointment  in  no  measured  terms,  reproaching  me  with 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  87 

having  no  ambition,  no  desire  to  rise  in  life  and  take  a  position 
which  would  raise  her  as  well  as  myself. 

"A  learned  man  is  all  very  well  in  his  way,  no  doubt,"  added 
she,  "but  the  practice  of  healing  will  never  raise  thee  to  the  posi- 
tion in  the  state  which  thou,  as  a  warrior  distinguished  by  the 
favor  of  a  Prince,  might  attain.  Thou  hast  told  me  oft  that 
in  thine  early  days  the  practice  of  arms  was  familiar  to  thee.  Why 
then  dost  thou  not  avail  thyself  of  so  good  a  chance  of  adopting 
war  as  thy  profession,  especially  as  by  so  doing  thou  couldst  still 
practice  thy  healing  art  upon  the  person  of  the  Prince,  and  such 
of  thy  comrades  as  had  the  ill-luck  to  be  wounded." 

I  was  so  much  offended  at  this  address  that  I  scorned  to 
explain  to  her  my  real  reason,  for  I  thought  she  showed  but  little 
anxiety  about  my  personal  safety,  and  was  somewhat  too  eager 
to  send  me  away  from  her.  I  was  leaving  the  room  in  hot  anger 
when  she  called  me  back,  saying,  "  Return  here,  Ahrinziman, 
thou  art  so  impetuous  and  so  quick  of  temper  I  see  that  thou  art 
offended  at  my  frank  speech,  and  dost  think  I  am  careless  of  thy 
life.  But  it  is  not  so.  For  I  deem  that  thou  bearest  a  charmed 
life,  and  I  do  not  fear  that  even  in  battle  harm  would  come  to  thee. 
Moreover,"  she  added,  touching  my  cheeks  and  beard  caressingly 
with  her  finger  tips,  for  I  had  returned  to  her  side,  "I  am  so 
proud  of  thee,  and  so  sure  thou  dost  only  want  opportunity  in 
order  to  become  as  great  as  thou  dost  deserve  to  be,  I  would  fain 
have  thee  to  accept  a  chance  like  this,  which  fortune  hath  surely 
sent  in  thy  way  in  order  to  help  thee  to  that  position  in  life  to 
which  I  am  most  certain  thou  dost  by  right  of  birth  belong." 

She  had  touched  now  upon  a  subject  about  which  I  was  some- 
what sore,  for  I  felt  most  keenly  the  mystery  which  surrounded 
my  birth  and  parentage,  and  I  would  have  given  much  to  know 
to  whom  I  of  right  belonged.  My  pride  and  my  ambition  caused 
me  always  to  cling  to  the  belief  that  I  might  be  the  son  of  the 
man  who  had  given  me  the  chain  and  spoken  those  strange  words 
of  affection  to  me.  I  was  sure  he  was  a  person  of  distinction, 
but  T  knew  not  where  to  search  for  him.  Nor  was  I  sure  that  he 
would  welcome  me,  for  he  had  never  come  to  see  me  but  that  one 
time.  I  had  told  Zuleika  a  great  part  of  my  history,  only  sup- 
pressing such  portions  as  I  thought  it  safest  to  abstain  from  con- 
fiding to  anyone.  She  was  very  discreet,  and  capable  beyond 
most  of  her  sex  of  keeping  her  own  counsel  and  another's  secrets, 
and  she  had  soon  drawn  from  me  all  but  what  concerned  my 


88  THE  STORY   OF  AHRINZIMAN 

flight  from  the  Temple  and  Jelal-ud-din's  death.  That  I  had 
practiced  the  arts  of  magic  she  knew,  though  not  that  my  instruc- 
tor in  them  was  dead,  and  she  had  heard  of  my  life  in  the  moun- 
tains when  a  boy,  and  of  my  having  joined  the  marauders  of  the 
hills  for  a  time.  Ambitious  herself,  she  had  fed  the  flame  of  my 
ambition,  and  encouraged  me  in  the  belief  that  some  day  I  should 
attain  a  position  worthy  of  what  she  held  to  be  my  distinguished 
parentage.  And  in  alluding  thus  to  my  birth  and  my  ambitions 
she  knew  that  she  was  advancing  the  strongest  possible  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  accepting  the  Prince  of  Persia's  offer. 

"Thou  dost  not  need  to  urge  me  to  consider  again  the  chance 
I  have  missed,  Zuleika,  for  I  should  have  at  once  accepted  it  but 
for  the  thought  of  leaving  thee.  Now  it  is  too  late.  I  have 
declined  it,  and  I  shall  not  again  sue  for  its  renewal.  I  care  not 
to  solicit  the  favor  of  any  man,  be  he  Prince  or  King." 

"Nay,  but  he  may  offer  it  to  thee  again,  and  if  so  thou  wilt 
accept  it,  and  when  thou  dost  return  a  victorious  conqueror  I 
shall  reward  thee  in  any  way  thou  dost  desire  most,  and  "I  will 
show  thee  how  proud  Zuleika  is  of  her  beloved." 

She  looked  up  at  me  with  so  much  witchery  in  her  dark  eyes, 
and  touched  me  so  lovingly,  that  my  gloomy  suspicions  were 
dispelled,  and  I  embraced  her  in  my  joy  and  kissed  her  passion- 
ately. 

Thus  was  my  career  changed;  for,  as  Zuleika  thought,  the 
Prince  was  too  anxious  to  have  me  with  him  to  give  up  the  idea 
lightly,  and  overtures  were  made  to  me  through  the  Vizier, 
which  I  now  accepted  with  a  mixed  feeling  of  pleasure  and  reluct 
ance,  of  satisfaction  and  foreboding  of  some  coming  evil. 

My  forebodings  were  not  however  fulfilled  very  quickly. 
Zuleika  went  to  reside  under  her  uncle's  care  during  my  absence, 
and  when  the  time  of  our  parting  arrived  showed  the  amount  of 
'emotion  which  was  becoming  on  such  an  occasion.  She  perhaps 
a  little  overacted  the  part,  but  she  did  it  very  gracefully,  by  no 
means  disfiguring  her  charming  countenance  with  an  excess  of 
tears,  yet  making  up  by  appropriate  expressions  of  her  feelings  in 
words  for  any  lack  there  might  be  of  them,  and  I  left  reassured 
as  to  her  fidelity  to  me.  I  did  not,  however,  suspect  that  my  wife 
had  already  been  seen  by  the  Prince  of  Persia,  and  that  it  was 
only  his  sense  of  the  gratitude  he  owed  me  which  prevented  him 
from  trying  to  possess  himself  of  her.  The  Vizier,  having  re- 
peated to  the  Prince  my  remarks  about  my  attachment  to  my 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  89 

wife,  he  had  conceived  a  desire  to  see  the  lady,  and  to  judge  for 
himself  of  the  power  of  her  charms.  By  bribing  some  of  my 
servants  the  Vizier  had  contrived  that  the  Prince  should  conceal 
himself  in  my  garden,  and  behold  Zuleika  when  she  was  walking 
there  alone  and  unveiled. 

Zuleika  was  supposed  to  be  ignorant  of  this  little  plan,  but  in 
truth  she  had  beeen  cautiously  informed  by  one  of  her  women, 
and  it  was  by  her  connivance  that  it  was  carried  out,  the  idea  that 
the  Prince  wished  to  see  her  secretly  having  fired  her  imagination 
and  flattered  her  vanity. 

The  expedition  to  which  I  was  attached  was  one  sent  to  quell 
a  revolt  in  one  of  the  minor  dependent  provinces,  and  the  Prince 
had  been  given  the  command  by  his  father  as  much  to  remove 
him  from  the  court  as  to  afford  him  a  chance  of  distinction.  I 
soon  learnt  from  those  about  the  Prince  that  he  and  his  father 
were  not  always  upon  the  best  of  terms,  since  the  Prince  sided 
with  his  mother,  between  whom  and  the  King  there  had  been  a 
marked  coldness,  almost  amounting  at  times  to  open  enmity,  for 
many  years.  The  Ameer  of  Afghanistan,  being  a  kinsman  of 
Queen  Artemisia,  had  allowed  the  Queen  and  her  son  to  retire 
more  than  once  to  his  court,  leaving  the  King  of  Persia  for  con- 
siderable periods,  and  Queen  Artemisia  was  more  than  suspected 
of  engaging  in  constant,  though  hitherto  unsuccessful,  plots  to 
dethrone  her  husband  and  place  her  son  upon  the  throne.  • 

Prince  Selim  himself,  was,  as  I  had  seen  at  first,  somewhat 
weak  of  will  and  easily  dominated  by  those  around  him,  and  the 
strong  will  of  his  mother  kept  him  in  constant  subjection  to  her 
wishes;  the  more  so  as  there  was  a  strong,  even  passionate, 
attachment  between  them,  while  towards  the  King  the  son  felt  an 
indifference  and  almost  dislike,  born  no  doubt  of  the  divided  feel- 
ing between  his  parents. 

To  me  the  young  Prince  soon  showed  a  strong  disposition  to 
attach  himself,  partly  due  to  the  influence  I  had  to  gain  over  him 
in  order  to  protect  him,  and  partly  to  a  feeling  that  I  was  to  be 
thoroughly  relied  upon  as  his  faithful  follower,  as  in  very  truth  at 
that  time  I  was. 

We  experienced  some  sharp  fighting  and  had  by  no  means  an 
easy  task  in  suppressing  the  revolt,  and  once  engaged  in  the  reali- 
ties of  warfare  I  found  little  time  to  think  of  domestic  matters. 
The  stir  and  bustle  of  a  camp  were  very  congenial  to  me,  and 
there  was  pleasure  in  serving  with  highly  trained  regular  troops 


90  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

far  superior  to  fighting  in  a  promiscuous  mele*e  with  an  insub- 
ordinate mountain  tribe  where  each  man  thought  himself  as  good 
as  his  leader,  and  where  little  or  no  discipline  prevailed. 

All  my  instincts  of  a  warlike  nature  revived.  I  learned  the 
various  arts  of  strategy  from  the  experienced  General  who  served 
nominally  under  the  Prince,  but  who  was  in  truth  our  real  leader; 
and  as  I  was  high  in  favor  with  Prince  Selim  I  was  rapidly 
advanced  from  one  post  of  honor  to  another,  those  who  envied 
my  success  deeming  it  well  to  feign  a  friendship  for  me  if  they 
did  not  always  feel  it. 

My  knowledge  and  skill  as  a  physician  made  me  of  still  more 
importance,  not  alone  to  the  Prince,  but  to  my  comrades,  and 
for  a  considerable  time  I  appeared  to  justify  Zuleika's  belief  that 
I  bore  a  charmed  life,  for  I  escaped  any  serious  wound. 

At  last,  however,  I  had  the  misfortune  to  receive  a  dangerous 
thrust  from  a  spear,  and  as  I  lay  on  the  ground  some  of  my  com- 
rades' horses  were  driven  in  the  tide  of  battle  over  me  where  I  lay, 
and  I  was  still  further  injured  by  their  hoofs,  so  that  the  fight, 
being  at  last  gained  by  our  side  and  the  enemy  beaten  back,  I  was 
picked  up  scarcely  alive  and  carried  to  my  tent,  where  I  lay  for 
many  weeks  in  extreme  danger. 

At  last  I  began  to  rally,  and  the  siege  of  the  city  wre  had 
attacked  being  by  this  time  over,  I  was  granted  leave  to  return  to 
my  own  home  in  the  city  of  Herat  to  rest  and  recover  my  strength. 

My  reception  by  Zuleika  was  all  that  I  could  desire,  and  more 
than  repaid  me  for  the  separation  and  suffering,  while  I  could  not 
but  wonder  how  I  had  so  long  been  content  to  lead  a  quiet  studious 
life  in  that  dull  hill  city. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  91 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

MY  PRISONER 

On  my  return  to  the  army  I  found  that  all  was  in  a  state  of 
bustle  and  confusion  in  consequence  of  the  news  that  had  just 
been  received  of  the  sudden  and  unexpected  death  of  the  King 
of  Persia,  and  the  consequent  necessity  for  the  immediate  return 
of  his  son.  The  Prince,  or,  as  I  must  now  call  him,  the  King, 
was  about  to  set  out  upon  his  return  to  the  city  and  palace  where 
his  father  had  died,  and  I,  as  a  matter  of  course,  was  expected  to 
accompany  him. 

We  had  reached  to  within  two  days'  journey  of  the  city,  and 
were  resting  for  the  night,  when  a  messenger  arrived  with  a  letter 
from  Queen  Artemisia  to  her  son,  after  reading  which  he  sum- 
moned me  to  his  presence,  and  addressing  me  said: 

"Ahrinziman,  thou  art  I  believe  faithful  to  me.  Among  all 
around  me  thou  art  the  one  I  would  most  readily  trust  as  being 
truly  faithful  to  my  interests,  and  therefore  I  desire  to  send  thee 
to  receive  the  charge  of  a  prisoner  who  hath  been  found  conspir- 
ing already  against  me,  and  whom  my  mother  hath  thought  fit  to 

arrest  and  send  to  the  fortress  of .  But  as  he  is  a  man 

who  held  great  power  under  my  father,  and  was  very  popular 
among  the  soldiers,  it  were  unwise  to  confide  the  charge  of  him 
to  any  who  have  been  his  friends  in  the  past,  and  I  desire,  there- 
fore, to  send  thee  with  a  troop  of  horsemen  to  conduct  him  to  the 
fortress,  where  thou  shalt  hand  the  charge  of  him  over  to  the 
Governor,  who  hath  already  received  instructions  how  to  deal 
with  his  prisoner.  Thou  wilt  start  at  once,  and  the  messenger 
who  brought  this  letter  will  conduct  thee  to  where  the  prisoner 
now  awaits  thy  coming.  Thou  wilt  then  join  me  at  Parsagherd." 

I  bowed  low  to  the  King,  and  having  kissed  the  hand  which 
he  extended  to  me  in  token  of  my  fidelity,  I  went  forth  to  make 
my  preparations. 

A  sharp  ride  of  a  few  hours  brought  us  to  where  a  company 


92  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

of  soldiers  were  encamped  with  their  prisoner  awaiting  us,  and  I 
took  over  the  command ,  sending  the  officer  and  his  soldiers  back 
to  the  city  by  order  of  the  King. 

It  was  already  dark  when  I  did  so,  and  as  the  prisoner  was 
much  muffled  up  by  a  large  cloak  I  did  not  take  much  notice  of 
his  appearance  at  the  time.  Scarcely  had  the  other  soldiers 
departed  when  a  message  was  brought  to  me  to  ask  if  I  would 
grant  my  prisoner  the  favor  of  a  few  minutes  interview.  Accord- 
ingly I  repaired  to  the  tent  in  which  he  was  confined,  and  lifting 
the  curtain  aside  from  the  doorway  entered. 

As  the  prisoner,  a  powerful  man  who  was  heavily  ironed, 
stood  up  and  advanced  to  meet  me  I  saw  his  face  for  the  first  time, 
and  uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise,  for  I  recognized  him  at 
once  as  the  man  who  had.  taken  me  to  the  herdsman's  hut  when 
I  was  an  infant — the  man  above  all  others  best  able  to  solve  for 
me  the  mystery  of  my  birth. 

"Thou  art  surprised,"  said  he  coolly,  "so  was  I  when  I  saw 
thee  but  now.  I  sent  for  thee  because  there  is  a  matter  of  much 
moment  which  I  have  to  confide  to  thine  ears,  and  also  because 
I  think  when  thou  hast  heard  my  narrative  thou  wilt  feel  that  at 
least  it  should  not  be  thy  hand  which  conducts  me  to  a  captivity 
that  I  know  but  too  well  will  end  only  with  my  death.  Queen 
Artemisia  and  I  are  too  old  and  too  deadly  enemies  for  her  to  spare 
me  now,  when  fate  has  delivered  me  into  her  hands.  I  saw  thee 
when  thou  arrived,  and  though  thou  art  changed  somewhat  since 
thou  wert  a  boy,  thou  bearest  too  close  a  resemblance,  both  in 
feature  and  in  gesture,  to  thy  father  for  anyone  to  doubt  thou  art 
in  truth  his  son." 

"Thou  dost  speak  of  my  father.  I  pray  thee  tell  me  who  he 
was,  for  long  have  I  desired  to  learn  from  whom  I  spring?" 

"Didst  thou  then  never  guess  whose  son  thou  art?" 

"No,  save  that  I  believe  it  was  the  man  who.came  with  thee  to 
see  me  when  I  was  a  boy.  He  who  gave  me  this  chain,"  said  I, 
drawing  it  forth  to  show  him,  "must  have. been  my  father.  But 
if  so  why  did  he  show  so  little  care  for  me?  Why  did  he  come 
but  that  one  time  to  see  his  son?" 

"Dost  thou  not  even  yet  guess  who  that  man  was,  nor  why  he 
of  all  men  dared  not  acknowledge  his  favorite  child?  Then  must 
I  tell  thee,  Ahrinziman,  that  thy  father  was  this  King  of  Persia 
who  hath  died  so  recently,  and  if  thou  wilt  grant  me  the  time  I 
will  tell  thee  his  story  and  thine  own,  and  thou  shalt  judge  if  the 
lot  of  Princes  is  ever  one  to  be  envied." 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  93 

He  then  told  me  the  history  of  my  parents,  and  of  the  murder 
of  my  poor  mother,  much  as  it  is  related  in  the  Prologue  to  this 
story  of  my  life,  and  went  on  to  say: 

"It  was  impossible  to  find  any  proofs  of  Queen  Artemisia's 
share  in  thy  mother's  death,  but  the  King  had  very  little  doubt  in 
his  own  mind  as  to  the  hand  which  had  dealt  him  this  terrible 
blow,  and  when  the  Queen  met  him  as  he  went  to  his  own  apart- 
ments from  his  beloved  Cynthia's  deathbed,  he  shrank  from  the 
caressing  touch  with  which  she  sought  to  welcome  his  return,  and 
dissemble  her  own  feelings,  as  though  some  loathsome  thing  had 
touched  him,  for  to  his  sight  her  hands  seemed  dyed  red  in  the 
blood  of  his  murdered  Cynthia. 

"His  expression  and  his  gesture  were  enough  for  the  Queen. 
She  drew  back  haughtily  and  turned  away,  and  from  that  hour 
there  was  naught  but  a  thinly  veiled  enmity  between  them.  She 
could  no  longer  hope  to  regain  his  love,  and  the  dignity  -of  her 
position  forbade  her  quarreling  openly  with  her  husband,  but  she 
could  and  did  embitter  his  life  with  the  secret  intrigues  against 
him  which  she  encouraged,  and  she  was  able  to  estrange  the  affec- 
tions of  his  legitimate  son,  and  make  her  child  side  with  her  on 
all  occasions. 

"As  for  Cynthia's  child,  the  whole  thoughts  of  the  King  were 
directed  to  finding  some  safe  asylum  where  Queen  Artemisia 
should  never  discover  him,  and  it  was  therefore  given  out  to  all 
that  the  child  was  dead,  while  in  truth  I  myself  took  him,  as  thou 
dost  know,  to  that  worthy  herdsman  whose  wife  had  nursed  me 
a  few  years  before.  The  King  himself  could  not  for  a  long  time 
bear  the  thought  of  seeing  thee,  it  revived  so  keenly  that  terrible 
grief  for  thy  mother's  loss,  from  which  he  ever  strove  to  win 
oblivion.  Not  till  I  told  him  of  thy  visions,  and  how  thou  hadst 
surely  seen  her  spirit,  did  he  desire  to  behold  her  child.  When 
he  left  thee  it  was  with  the  full  intention  of  arranging  some  plan 
whereby  he  could  bring  thee  to  live  with  him,  without  exposing 
thee  to  such  a  fate  as  had  befallen  thy  mother.  But  he  was  sud- 
denly called  away  to  Egypt  by  an  insurrection  there,  and  we 
deemed  it  best  for  thee  to  send  thee  to  the  Temple,  since  that 
would  at  least  afford  thee  a  safe  asylum. 

"It  had  been  thy  father's  thought  to  train,  thee  to  the  pro- 
fession of  arms,  and  to  keep  thee  near  himself,  but  when  diffi- 
culties of  all  kinds  began  to  gather  thickly  around  him,  he  took 
another  thought,  and  decided  to  let  thee  follow  thy  desire  of 


94  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

becoming  a  Prophet  of  the  Temple.  He  had  a  hope  that  thereby 
he  might  still  be  able  to  see  much  of  thee,  while  the  sacredness  of 
thine  office  would  give  thee  the  strongest  possible  protection 
against  any  plots  of  the  Queen,  even  should  she  learn  of  thine 
existence.  Moreover  thy  father  thought  that  the  death  of  his 
beloved  Cynthia  was  a  judgment  upon  him  for  having  taken  unto 
himself  one  who  had  been  dedicated  to  sacred  things,  and  he 
thought  to  appease  the  offended  Deity  by  giving  to  the  service  of 
the  Temple  her  only  son.  Thine  own  desire  seemed  to  point 
yet  more  strongly  to  this  being  the  right  course  to  follow. 

"We  were  absent  from  Persia  for  some  years,  and  wnen  at 
last  we  returned  the  King's  first  care  was  to  send  me  to  the  Temple 
of  Amurath,  to  which  he  had  caused  thee  to  be  sent,  that  I  might 
inquire  as  to  thy  welfare.  There  I  learnt  that  thou  hadst  struck 
down  one  of  the  High  Priests  and  fled.  Search  had  been  made 
for  thee  and  thou  hadst  been  traced  to  a  shepherd's  tent,  where 
thou  hadst  given  two  links  of  a  gold  chain  (which  I  well  knew  to 
have  been  given  thee  by  the  King)  for  food  and  clothes.  Thou 
wert  followed  in  thy  flight  to  a  precipice,  over  which  it  was  be- 
lieved that  thou  hadst  fallen,  since  those  who  pursued  thee  beheld 
thy  white  robes,  and,  as  it  seemed,  thyself,  lying  upon  the  rocks. 
It  was  impossible  to  recover  thy  body,  so  the  attempts  to  do  so  had 
to  be  abandoned,  and  the  Priests,  believing  that  the  vengeance 
of  the  Gods  had  overtaken  thee,  forbore  to  make  further  search. 

"The  King  and  I  mourned  thee  as  one  dead,  until  a  few  weeks 
before  thy  father's  death,  when  a  strange  rumor  reached  us  con- 
cerning one  named  Ahrinziman,  who  was  in  attendance  upon 
the  Prince  of  Persia,  and  who  had  shown  great  medical  skill,  being 
also  thought  to  execute  many  of  his  cures  by  the  aid  of  certain 
gifts  of  divination  which  he  possessed. 

"We  had  heard  of  the  wonderful  cure  wrought  upon  Prince 
Selim  by  thee,  but  thy  name  was  not  mentioned  till  one  came 
from  the  camp  who  knew  thee  well,  and  his  description  of  thee, 
and  of  the  name  thou  wert  known  under,  caused  to  thy  father  the 
greatest  agitation.  He  decided  to  recall  his  son  immediately, 
in  order  that  thou  mightest  accompany  him.  Then  he  heard 
that  thou  hadst  left  the  camp  and  returned  to  thine  home  for  a 
season,  and  it  had  been  arranged  that  I  should  seek  thee  out, 
when  the  King  was  seized  by  his  sudden  and  fatal  illness :  an 
illness  of  whose  cause,  methinks,  I  could  find  another  explana- 
tion than  that  which  the  learned  men  around  the  patient  gave." 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  95 

Al  Zulid  paused,  overcome  by  his  emotion,  and  then  continued : 
"Shortly  before  his  death  thy  father,  who  called  repeatedly  upon 
the  name  of  his  lost  son,  sent  for  me  and  for  a  scribe,  and  in  my 
presence  and  that  of  the  Vizier  dictated  a  decree  by  which  he 
left  the  kingdom  unto  thee,  his  son  Ahrinziman,  should  it  be 
proved  that  thou  wert  still  living.  For  he  believed  that  were  it  to 
pass  to  the  Prince  of  Persia  it  would  be  equivalent  to  leaving  it 
to  the  Queen,  since  her  son  is  entirely  under  her  influence  and 
governance,  and  El  Jazid  did  not  consider  it  would  be  well  for 
Persia  that  Queen  Artemisia  should  in  effect  reign  over  it  through 
her  son.  In  the  event  of  my  finding  that  thou  wert  really  dead 
the  kingdom  was  left  unto  a  third  son,  who  like  thyself  was  his 
illgitimate  offspring.  To  the  son  of  Artemisia  thy  father  left 
wealth  sufficient  for  all  his  needs,  even  on  the  most  Princely 
scale.  He  left  him  one  of  his  principal  Palaces  and  much  treasure, 
but  the  government  of  his  Kingdom  he  desired  should  pass  into 
other  hands  than  those  of  Artemisia  and  her  son. 

"For  sight  of  thee,  Ahrinziman,  he  ever  mourned,  and  when 
he  heard  of  the  great  military  powers  thou  hadst  displayed,  and 
of  thy  popularity  with  the  army,  he  felt  that  wert  thou  indeed 
his  son  thou  wert  only  justifying  the  opinion  he  had  formed  of 
thy  character  from  that  one  interview  he  had  with  thee,  and  that 
thou  would st  make  a  successor  to  himself  under  whom  Persia 
would  increase  in  her  greatness. 

"As  for  himself,  Ahrinziman,  he  ever  labored  as  one  from 
whose  life  the  zest  had  fled,  and  whose  heart  was  ever  a  prey  to 
an  abiding  sorrow,  which  sapt  at  its  roots  the  seed  of  ambition, 
and  rendered  as  dead  sea  fruit  all  the  triumphs,  all  the  conquests, 
that  he  attained.  Thus  the  promise  with  which  his  reign  began 
was  never  fulfilled,  and  he  acquired  a  character  of  weakness  which 
was  due  rather  to  listless  indifference  to  the  struggles  for  power 
of  those  around  him." 

As  I  looked  at  Ben  Al  Zulid  I  felt  that  he  spoke  the  truth,  and 
it  did  not  require  much  knowledge  of  mankind  to  convince  me 
that  the  nature  of  the  man  before  me  was  essentially  an  honest 
one.  Had  even  gratitude  to  him  for  his  care  of  my  boyhood  not 
influenced  me,  I  should  still  have  felt  a  reluctance  to  sharing  in 
consigning  him  to  captivity,  and  I  was  greatly  agitated,  not  alone 
at  what  he  had  told  me  of  my  parents,  but  at  the  strange  chance 
which  had  placed  him  in  my  power.  My  duty  to  the  King  who 
had  trusted  me  was  clear,  but  did  I  not  owe  some  duty  to  this 


96  THE  STORY  OF  AHR1NZIMAN 

man  also?  Could  I  hand  him  over  to  the  certainty  of  captivity 
and  death? 

While  I  considered,  Al  Zulid  spoke  again. 

•'Dost  thou  desire,"  said  he,  "to  know  where  is  this  decree  of 
which  I  speak?  Behold  it  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Grand  Vizier 
Babadul.  He  was  more  fortunate  than  I,  and  had  warning  in 
time  to  flee  from  danger,  taking  with  him  not  alone  the  decree, 
which  had  been  entrusted  to  his  care,  but  also  the  scribe  who 
wrote  it.  Therefore  Queen  Artemisia  may  suspect  that  it  con- 
tains matter  adverse  to  her  interests  and  those  of  her  son,  but 
she  can  have  no  certain  knowledge  of  its  contents,  and  in  arrest- 
ing me  she  hath  but  acted  upon  a  vague  suspicion,  without  proof 
to  support  it.  Yet  do  I  know  well  that  the  man  to  whose  keeping 
she  hath  consigned  me  will  not  trouble  himself  to  look  for  proofs 
of  my  guilt  or  innocence  when  the  Queen  commands  my  death. 
He  is  but  a  creature  of  her  own,  only  too  ready  to  do  her  bidding. 

"But  as  for  thee,  Ahrinziman,  if  thou  dost  desire  a  kingdom, 
thou  must  seek  out  Babadul  quickly,  or  else  he  will  seek  for  this 
third  son  of  thy  father,  and  set  him  up  against  Artemisia.  There 
be  many  who  will  join  his  standard,  or  thine,  for  there  are  many 
who  like  not  the  rule  of  Artemisia  and  her  weak-willed  son.  The 
haughty  Queen  hath  made  many  enemies." 

"Nay,"  answered  I,  "but  I  dare  not  be  the  one  to  wrest  the 
kingdom  from  the  grasp  of  Selim  and  his  mother,  since  honor 
and  friendship  alike  forbid  it.  To  the  Prince  I  owe  many  a 
favor.  He  hath  shown  me  kindness  and  distinguished  me  with 
marks  of  honor  at  a  time  when  I  was  obscure,  and  when  we  knew 
not  there  was  any  blood  relationship  between  us.  How,  then, 
can  I  avail  myself  of  this  decree,  and  turn  like  a  traitor  to  rend 
the  hand  which  has  showered  favors  upon  me?  How  can  I 
thrust  from  his  throne  him  to  whom  I  have  sworn  fidelity?  The 
prospect  tempts  me  much.  There  is  no  height  to  which  I  would 
hesitate  to  climb,  no  position  too  exalted  for  the  ambition  of  my 
own  desires,  but  I  cannot  climb  onto  a  throne  by  trampling  down 
the  rights  of  my  patron." 

"Be  it  so,  since  thou  dost  regard  it  in  that  way,  but  at  least 
satisfy  thyself  of  the  truth  of  what  I  have  told  thee,  by  seeking 
out  Babadul  and  beholding  this  decree  which  makes  of  thee  a 
King.  And  remember,  if  thou  dost  not  use  its  powers  against 
Prince  Selim,  another  will;  one  who  hath  not  thy  scruples. 
Beware,  moreover,  of  ever  trusting  Artemisia  or  her  son.  They 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  97 

may  load  thee  with  favors  to-day,  yet  to-morrow,  if  it  served 
their  own  interests  better,  they  would  consign  thee  to  a  dungeon 
cell.  The  wolf  is  not  more  savage  than  Artemisia;  the  hyena 
not  more  treacherous,  nor  the  fox  more  cunning  than  this  Queen, 
who,  did  she  but  once  know  whose  son  thou  art,  would  rend  thee 
in  pieces  in  her  bitter  long-nourished  hate,  no  matter  what  sacri- 
fice thou  hadst  made  for  the  sake  of  her  son.  Trust  her  not, 
and  trust  not  her  son;  for,  verily,  as  the  sun  shines  in  heaven,  so 
doth  the  hatred  of  Artemisia  towards  thy  mother  and  thy  father 
burn  like  an  ever  scorching  fire,  whose  flames  will  consume  thee 
some  day." 

The  earnestness  with  which  Al  Zulid  spoke  impressed  me  in  spite 
of  myself,  for  it  seemed  as  though  his  words  were  as  the  words 
of  one  inspired,  and  I  resolved ^  to  take  heed  of  this  Queen, 
and  to  keep  from  her  all  knowledge  of  my  parentage.  I  thought 
that  I  could  play  with  a  two-edged  sword  and  yet  not  cut  my- 
self, but  who  can  foresee  the  tricks  which  fate  may  play  him, 
or  who  can  guard  against  the  decrees  of  destiny. 

When  the  first  selfish  thought  of  myself  and  my  concerns 
had  passed,  I  remembered  Ben  Al  Zulid  and  his  present  position, 
and  I  said  to  him,  "But  what  of  thee,  my  friend,  cannot  I  help 
thy  fortunes  in  anyway?  I  owe  thee  also  too  much  to  lead  thee 
to  thy  death,  yet  how  can  I  be  the  one  to  release  thee?  What 
can  I  do?  Wouldst  it  avail,  thinkest  thou,  for  me  to  intercede 
with  the  King  for  thy  release?" 

Al  Zulid  laughed  a  scornful  laugh  as  he  replied,  "As  well 
might  thou  ask  a  cat  to  spare  the  bird  within  its  clutches  as  ask 
Artemisia  to  forego  her  revenge  upon  me  for  my  share  in  the 
past.  No,  I  would  not  have  thee  sue  for  my  life  to  the  son  of 
Artemisia.  Rather  would  I  die  a  thousand  deaths,"  said  he 
passionately,  "but  if  thou  would st  befriend  me  give  me  a  sharp, 
long  knife,  that  I  may  conceal  it  about  my  person,  and  mount 
me  to-morrow  on  the  fleetest  horse  thou  hast,  and  I  will  do  the 
rest  for  myself.  None  will  know  that  thou  hast  helped  me. 
Thou  canst  take  all  ostensible  precautions  thou  dost  choose 
for  my  safety,  for  if  I  have  but  my  long  knife  and  a  swift  steed, 
to-morrow's  sun  shall  see  me  dead  or  once  more  free.  I  am  too 
old  a  soldier  to  be  caught  again  easily,  and  had  it  not  been  that 
Artemisia's  soldiers  came  upon  me  at  a  time  when  grief  had 
well  nigh  deprived  me  of  my  wisdom,  I  should  not  so  readily 
have  been  taken  bv  them." 


98  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

"Well,  then,"  said  I  slowly,  "I  will  see  that  the  horse  thou 
shouldst  ride  to-morrow  shall  fall  lame  before  we  start.  There 
is  but  one  led  horse  with  us  now,  that  is  mine  own  favorite  steed. 
I  value  it  as  the  apple  of  mine  eye.  I  never  ride  it  in  battle  lest 
harm  should  come  to  it,  yet  will  I  see  that  thou  art  mounted  upon 
its  back  to-morrow.  Wert  thou  my  father  I  could  do  no  more 
for  thee,  for  this  horse  is  fleet  of  foot  as  the  fleetest  horse  of  the 
desert,  and  if  thou  dost  ride  well,  and  choose  the  time  of  thy 
flight  discreetly,  he  will  be  a  swift  horseman  who  overtakes  thee. 

"We  start  an  hour  before  dawn.  Ere  the  light  becomes 
bright  thou  mayest  make  thy  bid  for  freedom." 

Al  Zulid  bent  his  head,  and  taking  my  hand  in  his  kissed  it,  in 
token  of  his  deep  gratitude,  and  then  turned  away  overcome  by  his 
emotion. 

As  I  turned  to  leave  Al  Zulid  he  said,  "Ahrinziman,  son  of 
my  beloved  master,  if  we  meet  not  on  earth  again  I  would  fain 
repeat  to  thee  'Beware  of  Artemisia!  Tarry  not  at  the  court 
of  her  son.'  For  thee  there  may  be  many  brilliant  prospects 
elsewhere,  even  though  thou  wilt  not  stretch  out  thine  hand  to 
grasp  thy  father's  kingdom.  If  thou  wilt  show  this  ring  unto 
Babadul  and  tell  him  that  Al  Zulid  gave  it  unto  thee  as  a  token, 
he  will,  for  the  love  which  he  as  well  as  I  bore  to  thy  father,  help 
thee  to  prospects  as  fair  as  any  Prince  Sielm  can  offer  to  thine 
ambition.  Farewell.  'Thy  horse  shall  be  returned  safely  to 
thee  if  I  escape,  but  no  words  can  ever  express  my  gratitude, 
no  favors  I  can  bestow  can  return  this  service  that  thou  hast  done 
me." 

"Nay,  speak  not  of  it.  It  is  I  who  should  speak  of  thanks 
to  thee.  I  owe  thee  too  much  already,  and  it  is  but  in  a  poor 
fashion  I  seek  to  repay  thee  even  a  part  of  my  debt,"  I  replied. 
We  then  saluted  each  other  with  much  emotion,  and  I  went  forth 
from  the  prisoner's  tent  to  seek  a  few  hours'  repose. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  99 


CHAPTER  XIX 

QUEEN  ARTEMISIA 

Some  time  before  we  started  I  arose,  and  under  pretense  of 
examining  the  horses  took  care  to  lame  slightly  the  one  Al  Zulid 
was  to  ride,  in  order  to  have  a  pretext  for  mounting  him  on  my 
own  favorite  steed,  leaving  a  soldier  with  the  lame  horse  at  a 
small  village  near. 

It  was  still  dark  when  we  started,  and  as  the  road  lay  through 
a  mountain  gorge  we  were  obliged  to  ride  in  single  file.  I  myself 
rode  on  ahead,  leaving  the  prisoner  to  ride  in  the  middle  of  the 
small  troop  of  soldiers.  Just  as  we  reached  the  head  of  the  pass, 
and  the  road  widened  out  across  the  extensive  plain,  beyond 
which  lay  another  deep  ravine,  the  first  streak  of  daylight  was 
dawning  in  the  East.  As  we  emerged  from  the  deep  shadow  of 
the  hills  I  had  an  impression  that  it  was  here  my  prisoner  intended 
to  make  his  dash  for  liberty,  and  I  accordingly  spurred  on  my 
horse  and  gave  the  order  to  advance  rapidly.  As  we  broke  into 
a  quick  gallop  I  saw  the  prisoner  and  his  guards  were  skirting 
the  edge  of  a  small  ravine,  whose  precipitous  sides  were  covered 
thickly  with  brushwood.  I  did  not  think  it  wise  to  watch  him, 
so  began  to  converse  with  the  soldier  who  rode  nearest  to  me. 

All  at  once  there  was  a  loud  shout  and  a  sharp  scuffle,  and  I 
saw  two  soldiers  and  their  horses  rolling  down  the  sides  of  the 
ravine,  where  they  were  partly  caught  and  their  fall  broken  by 
the  brushwood.  The  prisoner,  who  had  somehow  managed  to 
free  his  hands,  taking  advantage  of  the  surprise  and  confusion, 
wheeled  his  horse  round  and  fled  across  the  plain,  where  in  the 
semi-darkness  it  was  difficult  to  follow  him. 

Of  course  we  gave  chase,  but,  as  I  well  knew,  my  fleet  horse 
soon  carried  him  beyond  pursuit,  and  the  friendly  veil  of  dark- 
ness prevented  us  from  seeing  accurately  where  he  went.  He 
was,  moreover,  well  acquainted  with  the  country,  and  I  was  not, 
and  although  I  feigned  the  greatest  anxiety  to  pursue  him,  I  con- 
trived to  confuse  our  route  still  further,  and  after  a  time  we  had 
to  give  up  the  chase. 


i oo  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

I  debated  within  myself  whether  I  would  return  to  the  King 
and  confess  how  very  inefficiently  I  had  performed  the  duty 
entrusted  to  me,  or  whether  I  would  also  make  my  escape.  I 
finally  decided  to  face  the  situation,  and  trust  that  the  value  of 
my  former  services  would  palliate  the  King's  anger  at  my  present 
failure. 

Fortune  favored  me  at  this  juncture,  for  on  reaching  the 
Palace  at  Parsagherd,  and  before  I  could  tell  of  the  escape  of  my 
prisoner,  I  was  met  by  an  anxious  messenger  who  had  just  been 
despatched  to  hurry  my  return.  The  King  had  been  seized  with 
another  and  far  worse  attack  of  convulsions.  None  of  those  who 
were  present  could  do  anything,  and  the  Queen  and  those  around 
feared  each  moment  must  prove  the  young  King's  last,  so  fearful 
were  his  struggles  and  convulsions.  Had  I  lost  a  hundred  pris- 
oners the  necessity  for  my  skill  would  have  excused  me  from 
blame. 

I  at  once  did  as  I  had  done  before,  and  succeeded  in  freeing 
Selim  from  the  obsessing  spirit,  but  it  was  by  no  means  so  easy 
a  task,  and  my  conversation  with  Al  Zulid  enabled  me  to  guess 
why.  I  had  little  doubt  that  the  dark  spirit  was  that  of  the  un- 
fortunate murdered  slave. 

I  did  not  at  this  time,  however,  know  precisely  where  the 
secret  passage  was  situated,  nor  that  the  King  was  in  the  very 
apartment  out  of  which  it  opened. 

When  at  last  the  patient  had  recovered,  his  own  anxiety  that 
I  should  not  again  leave  him  was  so  great  that  he  made  me  the 
most  flattering  offers  of  every  kind,  for  while  he  was  annoyed  at 
the  escape  of  Al  Zulid,  he  was  not  disposed  to  visit  his  anger  upon 
one  whose  skill  was  so  necessary  to  his  own  safety.  I  on  my  side 
felt  almost  constrained  to  accept  his  favors  and  remain  with  him, 
first  because  neither  he  nor  I  could  hold  ourselves  responsible 
for  that  enmity  between  our  parents  in  which  we  had  no  share, 
and  secondly  because  however  much  I  might  and  did  recoil  from 
any  intercourse  with  the  Queen,  who  I  had  no  doubt  was  the 
murderer  of  my  innocent  mother,  I  hardly  felt  that  I  had  a  right 
in  consequence  to  abandon  the  King  to  the  terrible  fate  which  I, 
more  than  any  other,  knew  to  be  hanging  over  him.  I  could 
see  that  it  only  wanted  an  opportunity  to  enable  the  black  spirit 
to  obtain  complete  possession  of  him,  and  I  felt  a  certain  pro- 
fessional interest  in  pitting  my  skill  and  knowledge  against  the 
powers  of  darkness  arrayed  against  me.  I  perceived  that  it  was 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMrA'M 

no  longer  only  the  one  dark  obsessing  spirit  against  whose  attacks 
upon  my  patient  I  had  to  guard,  but  that  behind  him  there  gath- 
ered a  horde  of  evil  influences,  who  used  the  dark  spirit  as  their 
weapon  of  active  attack;  beings  whom  Artemisia  herself,  in  the 
hour  when  she  had  stooped  to  revenge  and  murder,  had  gathered 
about  her,  and  whose  influence  was  the  heritage  she  gave  her  son. 

To  me  there  was  a  certain  fierce  pleasure  in  combating  these 
dark  beings,  and  beholding  them  retire  baffled  and  subdued  by 
the  force  of  my  own  will.  It  was  as  though  I  alone  defended  a 
fortress  from  the  assaults  of  many  foes,  and  as  each  time  I,  and 
not  they,  conquered,  I  felt  like  a  commander  who  has  beaten 
back  the  enemy. 

Thus  I  had  a  double  reason  for  remaining  with  the  King. 
Gratitude,  and  a  certain  affection  for  one  thus  dependent  upon 
me,  were  added  to  the  desire  to  free  him  entirely  from  his  dark 
and  unseen  foes. 

In  the  first  hurry  of  my  arrival  I  had  not  noticed  the  Queen, 
although  she  was  in  her  son's  room,  and  on  my  taking  charge 
of  the  patient  she  had  retired  to  her  own  apartments,  and  now 
sent  word  that  she  desired  an  audience  with  me,  a  command 
which  I  obeyed  with  a  mixture  of  curiosity  and  reluctance. 

The  Queen  received  me  in  her  own  private  apartments,  and 
as  she  was  closely  veiled  I  had  no  opportunity  of  seeing  her  face. 
As  she  signed  to  me  to  approach  her  I  recognized  the  haughty 
gracefulness  of  gesture  which  had  been  described  to  me.  I  felt 
instinctively  the  power  and  determination  of  the  woman's  char- 
acter. As  a  matter  of  course  I  bowed  low  to  her,  but  I  did  so 
with  a  hauteur  equal  to  her  own,  and  the  passionate  anger  which 
welled  up  in  my  heart  at  the  sight  of  her,  and  the  thought  of  my 
poor  mother's  fate,  made  it  well  nigh  impossible  for  me  to  con- 
trol my  emotions  sufficiently  to  answer  her  with  respect.  To 
what  she  ascribed  my  manner  I  know  not,  but  in  her  anxiety 
about  her  son,  which  was  the  one  soft  spot  in  her  hard  and  proud 
nature,  she  did  not  pay  much  heed  to  it,  but  began  to  question 
me  closely  as  to  the  causes  of  his  illness  and  the  remedies  I  could 
prescribe. 

I  answered  her  cautiously  and  briefly,  and  took  care  to  leave 
the  matter  in  as  much  mystery  as  before,  while  I  assured  her  that 
in  a  short  time  I  hoped  to  cure  her  son. 

"If  thou  canst  do  that  there  is  nothing  thou  shalt  ask  which 
shall  not  be  granted  unto  thee.  There  is  no  height  to  which 


jp:d  T:HE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

thine  ambition  can  aspire  which  shall  be  too  great  for  thee  to 
attain.  My  son  is  to  me  the  one  green  spot  in  the  desert  of  my 
life,  and  on  him  who  can  preserve  that  son  for  me  I  will  bestow 
the  equivalent  of  a  King's  ransom,"  said  the  Queen  in  a  voice  of 
deep  emotion. 

"Nay,  Queen  Artemisia,  it  needs  not  that  anyone  should  bribe 
me  to  give  my  best  services  unto  the  King,"  answered  I  haughtily, 
"I  have  done,  and  I  will  do,  all  that  lies  within  the  skill  of 
mortal  man,  yet  must  we  ever  leave  the  issue  to  higher  powerit 
Despair  not  though  again  the  fit  shall  seize  him,  for  each  time  is 
shall  be  with  less  strength  I  trust,  and  the  interval  shall  be  longer 
between." 

"I  shall  trust  my  son  to  thee,"  said  she,  "but  in  order  that 
thou  shouldst  not  leave  him  even  for  a  day,  I  would  desire  that 
thou  take  up  thine  abode  within  the  Palace.  Apartments  suited 
to  thine  office,  and  to  the  rank  that  thou  shalt  hold,  will  be  assigned 
to  thee,  and  thou  shalt  bring  thy  family  to  dwell  here,  and  to  follow 
with  thee  when  the  King  shall  remove  his  court  elsewhere.  I 
have  given  orders  that  all  means  to  transport  thy  family  and  thy 
household  treasures  shall  be  at  thy  immediate  disposal,  and  I  bid 
thee  not  to  delay  in  sending  for  them,  since  I  must  constrain  thee 
to  remain  with  the  King  henceforth.  All  that  thou  canst  desire 
of  wealth  and  treasure  is  already  bestowed  upon  thee,  and  thou 
shalt  find  that  Artemisia  knows  how  to  provide  as  a  Queen  should 
for  those  she  desires  to  honor." 

She  then  drew  a  costly  ring  from  her  finger  and  placed  it  upon 
mine  in  token  of  her  favor,  and  though  my  flesh  crept  at  her  touch, 
as  though  a  reptile  had  touched  me,  I  could  not  refuse  the  gift, 
and  had  to  conceal  my  feelings  as  best  I  could,  since  I  was  resolved 
to  remain  with  her  son  and  fight  out  the  battle  I  waged  on  his 
behalf. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  103 


CHAPTER  XX 

MY  VISION  IN  THE  MIRROR 

In  accordance  with  the  Queen's  desires,  no  less  than  my 
own,  I  went  to  bring  Zuleika  and  all  my  possessions  to 
the  magnificent  apartments  in  the  Palace  which  had  been 
assigned  to  me.  Zuleika  and  her  family  were  much  gratified  by 
the  splendid  litter  and  train  of  servants  and  soldiers  who  were 
sent  to  conduct  her.  Had  she  been  a  Princess  she  could  not  have 
been  treated  with  greater  honor,  and  while  I  flattered  myself  that 
all  this  pageant  was  intended  as  a  mark  of  honor  to  myself,  it  was 
in  a  great  degree  due  to  the  admiration  which  the  King  had  con- 
ceived for  my  wife  on  the  one  occasion  when  he  had  seen  her  in 
the  garden  at  Herat.  Had  I  had  the  slightest  suspicion  that  he 
had  ever  seen  her,  I  would  have  died  a  thousand  deaths  rather 
than  have  allowed  her  to  come  to  me,  but  I  was  ignorant  of  his 
secret  passion  for  her,  and  imagined  that  his  sole  thought  in  send- 
ing for  her  was  to  gratify  me. 

As  for  Zuleika  herself,  she  was  like  one  intoxicated  with  the 
grandeur  of  her  position.  She  had  always  been  ambitious,  but 
her  thoughts  had  never  soared  to  a  height  such  as  this,  and 
towards  me,  as  the  fortunate  man  who  had  raised  her  so  high, 
she  displayed  a  warmth  of  attachment  which  for  the  time  was 
in  all  respects  real,  and  I  was  raised  to  the  seventh  heaven  of  bliss 
by  her  many  expressions  of  devotion. 

Zuleika  was,  as  I  have  already  said,  naturally  reticent,  and 
not  given  to  that  indulgence  in  gossip  which  is  the  bane  of  her  sex, 
and  I  had  therefore,  in  the  hours  of  our  love  and  confidence,  con- 
fided to  her  much  of  my  history.  I  now  took  the  precaution  to 
warn  her  against  allowing  Queen  Artemisia  to  gain  any  knowledge 
concerning  myself  and  my  antecedents  from  her,  telling  her  that 
for  many  reasons  it  would  affect  me,  not  only  injuriously,  but 
even  cause  me  personal  danger  were  the  Queen  to  learn  more 
of  my  life  than  I  had  chosen  to  tell  myself.  I  felt  that  Zuleika 's 
own  affection  for  me,  and  her  own  self-interest,  would  keep  her 
from  being  betrayed  into  placing  any  confidence  in  the  Queen, 


io4  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

after  my  having  thus  warned  her,  and  I  knew  that  Zuleika  was 
far  too  clever  and  too  discreet  to  allow  herself  to  be  entrapped 
into  telling  what  she  desired  to  keep  secret. 


I  was  anxious  to  gain  more  knowledge  concerning  the  best 
means  of  keeping  the  King  in  the  satisfactory  state  of  health 
which  he  had  enjoyed  since  my  return  to  him,  and  therefore 
bethought  me  of  the  parchments  which  I  had  buried  in  the  vault 
in  Jelal-ud-din's  garden.  The  city  was  but  a  day's  ride  from 
Parsagherd,  and  I  therefore  resolved  to  go  and  bring  some  of  them 
away  with  me. 

Al  Zulid  had  returned  my  horse  to  me  secretly  by  a  messen- 
ger who  brought  word  that  he  was  in  safety  in  a  Greek  city  in 
Asia  Minor,  where  I  should  find  word  of  him  at  any  time  I  desired 
to  seek  him  out. 

I  took  with  me  a  small  box  in  which  to  carry  back  the  parch- 
ments, should  I  be  so  fortunate  as  to  find  them  undisturbed,  and 
mounted  on  my  favorite  horse  I  set  out  at  a  rapid  pace  for  the 
city  where  Jelal-ud-din  had  dwelt. 

I  reached  it  at  nightfall,  and  found  that  the  house  was  much 
as  I  had  left  it,  save  for  the  dust  and  decay  which  had  gathered 
there  in  the  few  years  which  had  passed.  The  superstitious  fears 
with  which  the  magician's  house  was  regarded,  together  with  the 
mysterious  disappearance  of  its  owner,  had  served  to  preserve  it 
from  pillage,  except  as  regarded  the  costly  furniture  and  rich 
hangings.  These  had  all  been  carried  away,  but  the  chemicals 
in  the  jars  remained,  and  also  the  curiously  preserved  specimens 
of  dead  animals,  etc.,  while  the  house  itslf  was  intact,  and  the 
secret  hiding  place  beneath  the  fountain  had  not  been  discovered. 
The  place  was,  indeed,  avoided  by  everyone. 

As  time  pressed  I  quickly  took  out  those  manuscripts  which 
I  saw  would  be  of  use,  and  closing  the  stone  returned  to  the  house. 
As  I  crossed  the  wilderness  of  a  garden  I  thought  I  heard  stealthy 
steps  following  me,  and  a  sound  as  of  some  one  sighing.  I  could 
see  nothing,  however,  and  concluded  it  must  have  been  a  fancy. 
I  entered  the  room  where  my  former  master  had  sat  with  me  so 
often,  and  in  which  he  had  died,  and  having  selected  certain  jars 
of  chemicals  which  I  packed  up  with  the  manuscripts  in  the  box 
I  had  brought,  I  was  about  to  leave,  when  I  bethought  me  of  the 
magic  mirror  which  I  usually  carried  about  me,  and  curious  to 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  105 

know  how  those  I  had  left  at  Parsagherd  were  getting  on  during 
my  absence,  I  drew  it  out  to  look  into  its  dark  surface.  "  Surely," 
thought  I,  "I  shall  see  something  in  this  room,  whose  whole  atmos- 
phere was  saturated  with  our  mystic  studies.  Surely  if  the  dead 
master  can  return  to  his  pupil  from  that  dark  bourne  to  which  he 
was  so  unwillingly  hurried,  he  will  return  in  this  room  where  we 
worked  so  long  together." 

Scarcely  had  these  thoughts  passed  through  my  mind  when 
I  saw  the  mist  gather  on  the  mirror's  polished  surface,  and  as  it 
passed  I  saw  two  figures,  a  man  in  a  rich  dress  whose  back  was 
towards  me,  but  whose  height  and  figure  somewhat  resembled 
my  own,  and  a  woman,  whose  head,  when  I  first  looked,  rested 
upon  the  man's  shoulder,  while  her  arms  were  twined  around  his 
neck,  and  her  whole  attitude  was  one  of  clinging  affection.  She 
raised  her  head  and  looked ,  not  at  me,  but  at  the  man  whom  she 
caressed,  and  I  saw  her  face  was  the  lovely  face  of  my  wife, 
Zuleika.  But  not  as  I  had  seen  it  last,  soft  and  tender,  and  with 
the  innocent  look  of  a  petted  child.  She  wore  the  evil  smile,  she 
gave  the  man  beside  her  the  alluring  tempting  glance,  wrhich  I 
had  seen  the  first  time  I  had  ever  beheld  her  image  in  the  mirror  in 
this  room,  and  I  shuddered  as  I  saw  it  stamped  upon  her  face  again. 

"Who  was  the  man?"  I  asked  myself,  as  a  chill  suspicion 
gathered  in  my  heart.  "Who  was  it?  His  figure  was  like  my 
own.  Surely  the  mirror  showed  me  Zuleika  as  she  would 
receive  me  a  few  hours  hence.  That  evil  smile  was  not  hers;  it 
was  born  of  the  evil  atmosphere  of  this  room,  which  tainted  all  I 
beheld  in  it.  Zuleika  could  never  look  like  that !  It  was  a  false 
libel  on  her !  And  yet  again,  who  was  the  man?  Was  it  myself?  " 

As  if  in  answer  to  me,  the  man  turned  his  head,  and  I  saw  the 
face  was  not  my  face,  but  the  King's. 


In  my  furious  anger  I  dashed  the  mirror  upon  the  ground,  and 
stamped  upon  it  with  the  iron-shod  heels  of  my  sandals,  till  I  had 
ground  it  into  a  thousand  pieces,  crying  out  that  it  was  a  false  and 
lying  mirror,  a  cheating  worthless  reflector  of  the  unseen  things. 
And  as  I  stormed  and  raved  in  my  passion  I  seemed  to  see  a  phan- 
tom form  rise  up  and  glide  along  the  wall  towards  me,  and  the 
face  as  it  turned  to  me  was  the  face  of  the  dead  Jelal-ud-din  him* 
self.  Not  the  face  as  I  had  known  it  in  life,  but  as  I  had  known 
it  in  death,  distorted  and  horrible. 


io6  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

The  low,  mocking,  sneering  laugh  of  the  dead  man  fell  upon 
my  ears,  and  his  voice  seemed  to  hiss  out  to  me  in  a  fierce  whisper, 
1  ' Wait !  Wait  and  see  whether  my  mirror  hath  lied  to  thee !  Wait 
till  all  thy  warm  affections  have  turned  to  bitterness  and  gall! 
Till  all  thy  bright  hopes  lie  like  withered  leaves  around  thee! 
Till  the  most  sacred  vows  to  thee  have  been  broken,  and  thy  trust 
betrayed !  And  thy  ruined  life  shall  cry  aloud  for  vengeance,  and 
in  thine  agony  thou  shalt  call  upon  those  powers  of  evil,  whose 
aid  thou  dost  now  despise,  for  help  to  crush  those  who  have 
wronged  thee — and  then  say  whether  the  visions  Jelal-ud-din 
hath  shown  thee  were  true  or  false ! "  . 

The  phantom  faded  as  the  words  died  away  like  a  faint  echo, 
and  I  stood  alone  in  the  room,  with  the  shattered  fragments  of  the 
broken  mirror  scattered  around  me. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  STORM 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  on  which  I  had  gone  to  visit  the 
house  of  Jelal-ud-din,  Queen  Artemisia  sat  alone  in  her  apart- 
ments, gazing  from  the  windows  over  the  city  which  lay  beyond 
the  Palace  walls,  and  musing  anxiously  over  the  news  of  a  for- 
midable insurrection  amongst  her  son's  subjects,  which  had  just 
reached  her.  The  banished  third  son  of  El  Jazid,  accompanied 
by  the  former  Vizier,  Babadul,  and  the  fugitive  General,  Ben 
Al  Zulid,  had  entered  Persia,  and  their  standard  had  already 
been  joined  by  many  who  disliked  or  feared  Queen  Artemisia 
and  her  son.  Her  anger  against  me  was  kindled  afresh  by  this 
news,  and  had  it  not  been  that  she  believed  my  presence  necessary 
to  the  safety  of  her  son  she  would  have  ordered  my  arrest  and 
execution. 

"  Surely,"  thought  she,  "  we  have  wise  men  at  the  Court  of 
Persia  whose  knowledge  is  equal  to  that  of  this  stranger?  The 
secret  power  he  wields  is  doubtless  due  to  some  magical  art. 
Could  I  but  discover  what  it  is  there  are  plenty  of  learned  men 
in  Parsagherd  who  could  cast  this  spell  as  successfully  as  Ahrin- 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  107 

ziman.  I  shall  seek  out  this  wife  of  his,  and  learn  from  her 
what  are  his  secret  habits,  and  from  whom  he  hath  gleaned  this 
secret  power.  It  is  said  that  this  is  the  same  man  who,  as  an 
unknown  youth,  came  unto  a  magician  and  dwelt  with  him  until 
both  mysteriously  disappeared.  The  clothes  of  the  magician 
were  found  lying  in  a  little  heap,  as  though  he  had  cast  them  off 
and  there  lay  beside  them  naught  but  a  little  black  dust;  the  man 
himself  had  vanished,  though  whether  he  had  left  the  earth  or 
but  transported  himself  unto  another  place,  none  of  his  neigh- 
bors could  tell.  Tis  a  strange  story,  yet  methinks  there  are 
wondrous  resemblances  between  the  description  that  was  given 
me  of  the  arts  used  by  the  vanished  magician  and  the  youth  who 
was  his  pupil,  and  those  which  Ahrinziman  doth  practice.  Could 
I  then  find  where  the  master  magician  dwelt  I  could  afford  to 
dispense  with  the  services  of  his  pupil  Ahrinziman.  And  I 
would  like  well  to  humble  this  proud  man,  who  treats  me,  not 
as  a  Queen,  but  with  almost  the  air  of  an  equal.  He  dislikes 
me  even  as  I  hate  him — why,  then,  should  I  and  my  son  be 
under  obligations  to  his  skill?" 

She  rose  and  paced  to  and  fro  like  a  caged  tigress,  as  she 
thought  of  these  things,  and  of  yet  another  and  more  deadly 
reason  she  had  for  hating  me.  It  was  but  a  suspicion  as  yet, 
but  each  day  it  assumed  the  stronger  appearance  of  a  certainty 
in  her  own  mind.  There  were  times  when  she  was  startled  by 
the  resemblance  I  bore  in  gesture  and  in  looks  to  the  dead  El 
Jazid.  Those  tricks  of  manner  which  are  often  used  uncon- 
sciously, and  inherited  from  our  parents,  were  very  marked  in 
me,  and  others  besides  the  Queen  had  noticed  them.  Artemisia 
had  never  believed  in  the  story  of  m^death  as  an  infant,  and 
the  news  of  this  insurrection  was  coupled  with  the  statement 
that  Ahmed,  the  third  son  of  El  Jazid,  was  claiming  the  throne 
by  virtue  of  a  decree  signed  by  the  King  before  his  death,  in 
which  there  was  mention  of  the  child  supposed  to  be  dead,  but 
thought  by  El  Jazid  to  be  yet  living.  Nothing  more  definite 
could  the  Queen  learn  as  yet,  but  it  was  enough  to  turn  her 
suspicions  into  certainty. 

"Oh,  ye  Gods!"  cried  she,  passionately;  "Oh,  ye  Gods! 
Have  I  so  long  waited  for  my  full  revenge  to  find  it  in  my  hands 
at  last?  Can  it  be  that  this  is  indeed  the  son  of  that  Greek  girl 
who  stole  my  husband's  love,  and  cast  a  blight  over  all  my  life? 
He  doth  bear  a  most  wondrous  resemblance  unto  the  king,  yet 


io8  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

there  are  times  when  he  looks  at  me  with  her  eyes,  and  I  see 
again  the  glance  of  half  wonder  with  which  she  regarded  me 
ere  fear  filled  her  soul,  and  she  fled  in  terror  from  the  dagger 
that  killed  her.  A  thousand  times  have  I  seen  her  thus.  She 
haunts  me  like  a  dim  shadow:  dead  always,  since  I  killed  her; 
phantom-like,  since  she  hath  no  more  existence — but  a  shadow 
from  which  I  cannot  free  myself;  a  phantom  I  can  never  lay  to 
rest.  And  in  this  her  son,  for  of  a  surety  he  is  her  son,  I  see 
again  her  face  and  El  Jazid's  reflected  to  me.  I  might  kill  him 
any  hour,  but  what  is  death?  A  momentary  pang,  and  all  is 
over;  the  victims  are  gone  where  thou  canst  reach  them  no  more, 
while  thou  art  left  to  eat  out  thine  heart  in  a  slow  agony  through 
the  long  years  of  thy  life.  I  killed  the  Greek  girl  in  mine  angry 
haste;  rather  should  I  have  killed  El  Jazid  and  let  her  live  on, 
that  I  might  make  her  suffer,  and  taste,  as  I  have,  all  the  bitter- 
ness of  scorn  and  neglect.  Fate  would  seem  to  have  delivered 
unto  me  her  son;  and  Fate  shall  help  me  to  extract  from  him  and 
from  his  ruined  and  empoisoned  life  the  salve  which  can  alone 
soothe  the  bitterness  of  my  heart." 

She  ground  her  teeth  and  shook  her  clenched  hands  above 
her  head  in  her  savage  desire,  and  struck  her  breast  in  passionate 
anger,  as  she  thought  over  the  fierce  agony  of  her  slighted  love, 
and  the  scornful  contemptuous  manner  of  the  dead  king  towards 
her.  Well,  indeed,  would  it  have  been  for  me  and  for  mine 
had  I  paid  more  heed  to  the  warning  Al  Zulid  had  given  me, 
not  to  trust  myself  in  Artemisia's  power. 

Zuleika  had  been  in  the  Palace  for  a  week  only,  and  had 
not  yet  seen  the  Queen,  when  a  gracious  message  from  Artemisia 
filled  her  with  a  conflict  of  emotions  in  which  gratified  vanity 
held  the  largest  share.  She  hastily  attired  herself  in  the  most 
gorgeous  raiment  she  possessed,  and  made  an  attempt  to  decorate 
the  apartments.  She  then  went  forth  to  receive  her  Royal  visitor 
at  the  entrance  to  them. 

When  the  Queen  had  been  conducted  to  the  seat  of  honor 
which  had  hurriedly  been  arranged  for  her,  Zuleika  made  a 
deep  obeisance  of  respect,  and  prostrated  herself  at  Artemisia's 
feet  with  a  truly  wonderful  imitation  of  the  manners  of  the  Queen's 
attendants  that  did  credit  to  her  powers  of  mimicry. 

The  Queen,  who  was  all  impatience  to  see  my  wife,  com- 
manded Zuleika  to  unveil,  and  as  she  drew  aside  the  veil,  with 
which  in  a  spirit  of  coquetry  she  had  concealed  her  features. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRNIZIMAN  109 

the  Queen  uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise  and  satisfaction, 
for  she  saw  that  Zuleika  was  indeed  very  beautiful.  Her  girlish 
loveliness  had  matured  into  still  more  perfect  charms  since  her 
marriage.  Artemisia  signed  to  her  to  seat  herself  at  her  feet, 
and,  having  dismissed  the  attendant  women,  thus  addressed  her: 

"I  had  thought  to  have  visited  ere  this  the  wife  of  one  whom 
my  son  delighteth  to  honor,  but  the  cares  of  state  are  many,  and 
my  time  hath  been  fully  occupied.  Of  a  truth  I  must  commend 
the  taste  of  thine  husband,  for  thou,  Zuleika,  art  lovely  enough 
to  have  found  favor  in  the  eyes  of  any  man,  were  he  even  the 
King  himself."  She  fixed  her  keen  eyes  upon  Zuleika  as  she 
said  this,  to  note  whether  she  would  betray  any  confusion  at 
the  mention  of  the  King's  name,  but  Zuleika,  ostensibly  to  ex- 
press how  overwhelmed  she  was  by  the  condescension  of  the 
Queen,  but  in  reality  to  hide  a  tell-tale  blush  which  mantled  her 
cheeks  for  a  brief  moment,  bowed  almost  to  the  ground,  and' 
spread  out  her  hands  in  the  most  profound  salaam  before  the 
Queen. 

"Your  Highness  does  me  too  much  honor,"  said  she,  as  she 
rose  up.  "I  am  not  worthy  of  these  favors  which  are  showered 
upon  me." 

"Thou  art  doubtless  a  stranger  to  the  ways  of  a  Palace, 
then,  yet  thou  hast  the  manner  of  those  who  are  not  altogether 
unacquainted  with  the  presence  of  the  great,"  said  the  Queen, 
in  flattering  tones.  "Whence  didst  thou  come,  before  thou  and 
thy  husband  dwelt  in  Herat?" 

"Nay  but,  your  Highness,  I  know  no  city  but  Herat,  where 
I  lived  with  my  Uncle  from  a  child." 

"And  thy  husband,  is  he  from  Herat  also?" 

"Ahrinziman  hath  been  a  traveller,  most  gracious  Queen; 
who  can  say  from  what  place  those  who  travel  much  come?" 

"Truly;  yet  he  must  have  been  born  somewhere.  Where 
did  his  parents  reside?" 

"I  know  not.  Ahrinziman  is  one  of  those  who  have  known 
little  of  a  parent's  love." 

"Even  as  he  hath  spent  his  youth  somewhere  he  hath  learnt 
the  arts  of  healing  and  of  war  in  some  school.  Dost  thou  know 
so  little  of  thy  husband  as  not  to  know  these  things  concerning 
him?  If  so,  thou  art  a  model  wife  to  trust,  a  mirror  of  wifely 
discretion,"  said  the  Queen,  irritably. 

Again  Zuleika  prostrated  herself  before  the  Queen  ere  she 


no  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

replied.  "Ahrinziman  hath  studied  in  so  many  schools  it  were 
hard  to  say  to  which  to  give  the  honor  of  his  success,  or  even  to 
remember  where  they  all  were,  since  I  am  but  an  unlearned 
person,  and  know  not  where  all  the  cities  and  countries  are  of 
which  men  speak." 

"Thou  mayest  be  unlearned,,  but  thou  art  no  fool,  I  do  well 
perceive,  and  thy  discretion  does  thee  honor,"  said  Artemisia, 
with  a  show  of  indifference  she  was  far  from  feeling,  "but  if  thou 
dost  desire  to  rise  in  my  favor,  and  that  of  the  king,  thou  and 
tby  husband  would  do  well  to  trust  us  with  the  history  of  his 
past.  Methinks  I  can  do  Ahrinziman  service  which  will  dis- 
charge in  part  the  debt  of  gratitude  I  owe  him,  but  to  do  so  it 
is  needful  I  should  learn  of  what  country  he  is.  Can  Persia 
claim  him  as  her  son?  " 

"I  have  always  thought  he  is  a  Persian,  Gracious  Queen, 
but  I  will  surely  ask  him." 

"Do  so,  only  do  not  say  the  Queen  desired  to  know,  for  I 
design  an  honor  for  him,  and  would  not  have  him  to  know  of 
it  till  all  be  complete.  Thou  art  one  who  would  grace  well  the 
highest  position,  Zuleika,  and  thou  must  ever  count  upon  the 
friendship  of  Artemisia  to  raise  thee  to  it.  I  am  glad  to  have 
seen  thee.  Thou  and  I  must  see  much  of  each  other." 

Artemisia  rose,  and  summoning  her  maids  prepared  to  return 
to  her  own  apartments,  parting  from  Zuleika  with  every  mark  of 
favor  she  could  bestow,  so  that  Zuleika  ^was  charmed  with  her 
Royal  visitor  and  her  head  was  filled  with  a  hundred  ambitious 
dreams. 

Scarcely  had  the  Queen  left  when  another  messenger  arrived, 
this  time  from  the  King,  bearing  a  most  beautiful  basket  of 
roses,  amidst  whose  fragrance  there  reposed  a  magnificent  necklet 
of  pearls,  which  the  King  begged  Zuleika  to  accept  as  a  mark 
of  esteem  from  himself.  The  slave  who  brought  it  added  mys- 
teriously that  Zuleika  would  do  well  to  take  a  walk  at  sunset  in 
the  garden,  and  to  visit  the  little  summer  house  at  the  further 
end  of  the  enclosure,  wearing  the  King's  present  to  show  that 
she  had  accepted  it. 


The  moon  had  risen  in  the  evening  sky,  and  its  light  silvered 
as  with  a  glittering  sheen  the  leaves  and  flowers  around  the 
King  and  Zuleika.  It  flooded  with  its  soft  radiance  the  fair 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  in 

garden,  yet  left  the  summer  house  in  which  they  stood  in  deepest 
shadow.  As  the  moonbeams  fell  upon  the  necklet  of  pearls 
which  lay  beside  them,  the  King  took  it  and  clasped  it  round 
Zuleika's  lovely  throat,  while  he  bent  down  again  and  yet  again 
to  press  passionate  kisses  upon  her  lips.  And  then  it  was  that 
she  responded  to  his  caresses  even  as  I  beheld  her  in  my  vision 
in  the  mirror. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

ZULEIKA  QUIETS  MY  FEARS 

I  rode  homeward  as  though  a  thousand  devils  pursued  me, 
the  vision  I  had  seen  haunting  me  in  spite  of  all  my  efforts  to 
discredit  it,  and  making  me  half  mad  in  my  apprehension  for 
Zuleika's  safety. 

When  I  arrived  at  my  own  home  Zuleika  came  forth  to  meet 
me  with  so  well  acted  a  show  of  affection  and  pleasure  that  I 
felt  ashamed  of  my  fears.  To  my  anxious  inquiries  as  to  how 
she  had  fared  in  my  absence,  and  whether  she  had  seen  any- 
thing of  the  King, — for  I  was  so  jealously  unhappy  I  forgot 
to  hide  my  feelings,  and  wished  to  see  whether  she  would  show 
any  embarrassment  at  the  mention  of  his  name, — she  raised  her 
fine  eyes  to  my  face  in  languid  surprise,  and  without  the  slightest 
trace  of  embarrassment  said  somewhat  coldly: 

"The  King?  What  have  I  to  do  with  the  King?  Didst 
thou  desire  that  I  shouldst  see  him?" 

"I  desire?"  said  I.  "No!  a  thousand  times,  No!  But  I 
half  feared  his  curiosity  might  prompt  him  to  see  thee,  and  I  had, 
moreover,  a  strange  vision  in  which  thou  seemed  to  speak  with 
him." 

"A  vision,"  said  Zuleika,  contemptuously,  "and  if  thou  had st 
a  vision,  am  I  to  be  suspected?  Nay,  but  thy  jealousy  carries 
thee  too  far,  Ahrinziman,  thou  art  beyond  all  reason."  And 
she  turned  her  back  upon  me  as  though  to  leave  the  room  in 
her  indignation.  But  I  followed  her,  and  with  many  apologies 


ii2  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

strove  to  make  my  peace  with  her  vowing  that  she  was  an  Angel 
of  truth  and  goodness,  and  I  was  a  jealous  fool,  whose  love 
rendered  him,  even  as  she  said,  unreasonable.  And  so  we 
made  it  up,  and  Zuleika  got  out  her  harp  and  sang  to  me,  and 
did  all  that  was  possible  to  show  how  she  welcomed  my  return, 
till  I  vowed  to  myself  that  of  a  truth  the  mirror  must  have  lied 
and  it  was  well  I  had  destroyed  it. 

Although  Zuleika  affected  to  know  nothing  of  the  King,  she 
told  me  of  Artemisia's  visit,  and  amused  me  much  by  mimicking 
the  whole  scene,  acting  the  part  of  the  Queen  with  a  haughty 
gracefulness  that  was  but  half  acting.  She  so  assured  me  of 
the  discretion  she  had  shown  in  answering  the  questions  of  the 
Queen  that  I  had  small  apprehension  when  in  a  few  days  she 
was  sent  for  to  visit  Artemisia. 

When  Zuleika  entered  the  Queen's  apartments  she  found 
her  surrounded  by  costly  treasures  of 'every  kind:  rich  silken 
stuffs,  interwoven  with  gold  thread,  and  spangled  with  glittering 
jewels;  fine  veils  of  snowy  gossamer;  fabrics  elaborately  em- 
broidered; priceless  ornaments  of  rare  workmanship,  scattered 
on  every  side,  while  the  Queen  herself,  as  she  rose  and  advanced 
a  few  steps  to  meet  Zuleika  (a  mark  of  the  greatest  honor  she 
could  give)  made  a  striking  contrast  to  the  ambitious  girl  whose 
aspiring  mind  made  her  already  picture  herself  as  occupying 
the  position  of  the  proud  Artemisia.  The  one  born  to  rule,  and 
surrounded  from  her  cradle  with  all  the  appanages  of  royalty, 
beautiful  still  with  the  ripened  beauty  of  the  mature  summer 
or  early  autumn  of  life,  taller  than  the  ordinary  height  of  women, 
and  though  far  from  being  stout,  yet  enough  so  to  give  a  more 
majestic  appearance  to  her  handsome  figure — a  Queen  in  every 
gesture,  every  thought: 

The  other,  smaller,  slighter,  with  the  fragile  delicate  beauty 
of  a  blush  rose,  the  graceful  caressing  manner  of  a  child,  yet 
with  an  ambition  as  keen,  a  heart  as  proud,  a  temper  as  indom- 
itable as  that  of  the  haughty  Queen,  before  whom  she  was  con- 
strained to  affect  a  humility  she  did  not  feel;  with  a  cunning  as 
deep,  an  intellect  as  keen,  as  Artemisia's  own,  and  a  capability 
of  accommodating  herself  to  the  circumstances  of  the  moment 
which  the  impatient  Queen  did  not  possess;  and  with  a 
calm  indifference  to  all  but  her  own  interests,  an  insensibility 
to  all  deep  emotions  which  the  passionate  elder  woman  could 
not  have  understood.  Artemisia  could  act  when  it  suited  her 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  113 

purpose,  and  feign  a  friendliness  she  did  not  feel  to  hide  her 
real  intentions,  but  with  her  the  graciousness  was  forced,  the 
deception  a  matter  of  study,  and  an  effort  to  herself;  while  with 
Zuleika  the  acting  was  instinctive, — she  was  always  acting, 
always  posing  to  herself  as  well  as  to  others.  In  the  solitude 
of  her  own  chamber  she  posed  to  herself  as  the  possessor  of  an 
emotional  character  as  foreign  to  her  real  nature  as  fire  is  to 
ice.  She  depicted  passions  as  she  had  seen  them  displayed  by 
others,  and  mimicked  the  most  intense  manifestations  of  love  or 
hate,  joy  or  despair,  without  feeling  the  smallest  throb  of  these 
emotions  herself. 

It  was  because  she  was  a  mere  mimic,  and  not  truly  an  actress, 
that  she  failed  to  arouse  in  others  the  answering  sympathy  which 
can  alone  be  awakened  by  the  perfect  actors  or  actresses,  who 
themselves  feel  vividly  for  the  time  all  the  intensities  of  passion 
which  they  depict.  Zuleika  was  a  mere  mimic,  and  in  her 
mimicry  her  real  inner  nature  had  no  share,  her  soul  no  part; 
and  this  was  the  reason  that  her  deepest  protestations  of  love 
left  my  heart  still  in  doubt;  her  most  carefully  acted  devotion 
left  me  still  suspicious  and  distrustful,  for  while  I  argued  that 
she  showed  me  all  the  affectionate  attention  a  husband  could 
desire,  my  instinctive  sense  of  the  unreality  of  her  loving  words 
and  soft  caresses  kept  my  heart  restless  and  unsatisfied. 

In  the  struggle  these  two  women,  who  both  sought  to  wield 
power  through  their  influence  over  the  King,  were  pretty  equally 
equipped,  the  qualities  possessed  by  each  being  balanced  very 
evenly,  for  while  Zuleika's  youth  and  beauty,  her  art,  and  her 
perfect  coolness  of  temper  gave  her  certain  advantages  over  the 
Queen,  the  latter  had  the  influence  of  years,  the  ties  of  long 
affection,  the  habit  of  obedience  to  her  in  the  past,  to  aid  her, 
and  had  it  not  been  for  the  interposition  of  a  power,  with  whose 
influence  neither  had  reckoned,  it  is  impossible  to  say  which 
would  have  been  the  victor,  or  which  would  have  had  to  yield 
to  the  supremacy  of  the  other.  As  it  was,  they  each  affected  a 
friendliness  they  did  not  feel,  and  each  believed  they  had  deceived 
the  other. 


u4  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
THE  KING'S  FAVORS 

Soon  after  Zuleika  returned  from  her  audience  with  the 
Queen  I  was  summoned  to  attend  the  King,  and  sent  on  a  mission 
which  took  me  away  for  a  few  hours  of  the  evening.  On  my 
return  I  went  as  usual  to  take  my  parchments  from  their  box, 
for  I  was  deeply  interested  in  reading  those  I  had  at  last  brought 
from  my  dead  master's  house.  They  contained  a  most  curious 
description  of  the  means  whereby  the  spirits  of  the  Astral  plane, 
and  the  multiform  beings  of  an  evil  nature  who  hover  around 
the  earth,  could  be  controlled  and  made  to  serve  man  as  humble 
if  dangerous  servants — a  knowledge  which  Jelal-ud-din  had 
withheld  from  me.  I  had  almost  finished  the  manuscript,  and 
thought  I  would  do  so  before  I  slept. 

When,  however,  I  opened  the  box  I  perceived  that  they  had 
been  disarranged.  They  were  not  in  the  order  in  which  I  had 
placed  them,  and  on  taking  them  into  my  hands  I  at  once  be- 
came conscious  of  a  fresh  influence  pervading  them.  Some  one 
had  been  to  the  box.  Some  one  had  discovered  my  hiding 
place,  and  my  treasures  were  no  longer  safe. 

Much  agitated  by  this  discovery  I  resolved  to  lose  no  time 
in  placing  them  in  a  fresh  place  of  concealment,  and  taking  the 
box  with  me  I  went  out,  and  mounting  my  horse  again  rode 
away  unattended  to  a  lonely  spot  a  few  miles  from  the  city. 
Here  I  buried  the  box  under  some  wild  tamarisk  bushes,  and, 
having  carefully  removed  all  traces  of  my  having  done  so,  re- 
turned unobserved  to  my  apartments  in  the  Palace. 

Who  it  was  who  had  found  out  my  manuscripts  I  could  not 
guess.  Zuleika  I  did  not  suspect,  and  the  influence  of  the  person 
who  had  been  handling  them  was  a  strange  one  to  me.  Doubt- 
less, thought  I,  some  servant  hath  done  it,  and  finding  the  box 
contained  no  money  left  it  alone.  I  wished  now  I  had  not  so 
hastily  destroyed  the  magic  mirror  in  my  anger,  for  it  might 
have  shown  me  something.  My  own  powers  were  not  available 
unaided,  because  the  bustle  and  confusion  of  my  present  life, 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  115 

my  anxieties  and  worldly  thoughts,  had  impaired  them  so  much 
that  I  could  no  longer  command  my  visions,  or  behold  things 
I  wished  to  see  save  in  fitful  uncertain  glimpses.  The  mirror 
had  aided  my  weakened  powers,  and  formed  a  means  of  reflect- 
ing in  a  semi-material  manner  the  multitudinous  events  that 
were  taking  place  around  me,  or  had  shadowed  forth  those 
which  were  approaching.  I  had  now  no  means  of  forewarning 
myself  of  the  plots  and  machinations  which  were  gathering 
around  my  path,  and  the  dim  sense  of  coming  evil  which  op- 
pressed my  soul  only  served  to  render  my  own  unaided  powers 
still  less  fit  for  use.  All  my  dreams  were  broken  and  disturbed, 
and  the  pictures  in  them  were  like  distorted  reflections  in  the 
broken  fragments  of  the  mirror,  which  in  my  passion  I  had 
destroyed.  All  the  omens  around  me  seemed  to  point  to  some 
great  misfortune,  or  even  to  death;  whose,  I  could  not  see,  but 
I  felt  that  my  own  fate  was  involved  with  that  of  others.  Th- 
atmosphere  of  the  Palace  oppressed  me.  The  manner  of  Zue 
leika  was  so  artificial  in  its  semblance  of  affection  that  I  began 
to  suspect  her.  The  King,  whose  mind  I  could  often  read, 
gave  me  the  feeling  that  he  was  meditating  some  treachery 
towards  me,  how  or  in  what  way  I  could  not  see.  The  Queen 
I  had  always  felt  to  be  my  enemy,  as  I  was  hers,  and  I  had  little 
doubt  that  she  was  planning  some  mischief  against  me. 

In  this  state  of  affairs  I  resolved  to  leave  the  Palace  and  the 
King,  and  to  seek  out  Al  Zulid  and  learn  what  he  could  do 
for  me. 

Well  would  it  have  been  had  I  but  done  so  promptly,  and 
left  the  very  night  I  found  my  parchments  had  been  tampered 
with.  But  I  hesitated.  I  wished  Zuleika,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
to  be  the  companion  of  my  meditated  secret  flight  from  the 
Palace,  and  she  refused  to  go.  She  was  most  indignant  at  what 
she  termed  my  folly,  my  insanity,  in  proposing  to  throw  away 
the  favor  of  the  King,  the  position  of  honor  which  I  had  enjoyed 
for  such  a  very  few  weeks,  and  all  because,  forsooth,  I  had  bad 
dreams,  suffered  from  forebodings,  and  was ,  suspicious  and 
distrustful!  She  assured  me  of  the  favor  the  Queen  had  shown 
her,  but  she  did  not  add  that  the  King  and  she  had  met  daily, 
and  that  his  favors  had  considerably  outweighed  in  value  those 
bestowed  by  the  Queen.  She  coaxed  me,  she  soothed  me,  she 
practised  all  her  arts  to  tranquillise  my  mind,  and  so  great  was 
her  magnetic  power  she  succeeded  in  lulling  me  into  a  species 


n6  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

of  mental  torpor,  though  she  could  not  beguile  away  my 
apprehensions. 

In  truth,  she  was  seeking  to  gain  time.  She  did  not  wish  to 
put  herself  absolutely  in  the  power  of  the  King  till  she  was  very 
sure  that  the  foundations  of  her  influence  over  Selim  were  secure, 
and  strong  enough  to  bid  defiance  to  any  assaults  of  the  Queen 
or  any  other  person.  She  did  not  want  me  to  come  to  any  harm — 
she  was  not  heartless  enough  for  that — but  she  did  want  to  get 
me  out  of  the  way  as  quietly  as  possible,  since  I  had  become  a 
barrier  between  her  and  her  ambition.  She  had  never  really 
loved  me,  and,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  she  had  conceived  a 
passion  for  the  King,  born  principally  of  her  admiration  for  his 
power  and  wealth.  She  wanted  me  to  go  away,  but  she  had  no 
idea  of  accompanying  me.  Events  had  hurried  on  so  fast  that 
it  was  not  yet  two  months  since  Selim  had  ascended  the  throne; 
scarcely  two  weeks  since  Zuleika  had  arrived  from  Herat, 
and  yet  the  current  of  our  lives  was  bearing  us  on  in  a  rapid 
rush  towards  a  mighty  whirlpool  of  destruction.  The  impa- 
tience of  the  King  was  precipitating  the  crisis  of  Zuleika 's  fate, 
which  she  was  vainly  striving  to  delay. 

In  less  time  than  a  week  from  the  time  when  I  had  discovered 
that  my  parchment  scrolls  had  been  inspected,  I  was  sent  for 
by  the  King,  and  informed  with  many  flattering  speeches  that 
it  was  his  desire  to  appoint  me  Governor  of  a  distant  province 
for  a  short  time,  in  the  absence  of  the  present  Governor.  "  Ahrin- 
ziman,"  said  he,  "if  for  these  few  weeks  thou  dost  find  that  the 
cares  of  Government  are  to  thy  taste,  on  thy  return  we  can  think 
of  some  position  about  the  Court  to  suit  thee,  and  this  experience 
will  give  me  excuse  for  appointing  thee  unto  it.  For  myself, 
I  feel  now  so  well  I  think  I  can  dispense  with  thy  constant  pres- 
ence for  a  short  time,  and  when  thou  dost  return  thou  shalt  find 
we  have  not  forgotten  thee  in  thine  absence.  I  have  here  a 
letter,  written  and  signed  with  mine  own  hand  and  seal,  which 
thou  shalt  give  unto  the  Governor  whose  place  thou  art  to  occupy 
for  a  brief  season.  It  tells  him  how  highly  I  esteem  thee.  As 
for  thy  wife,  Ahrinziman,"  he  added,  coloring  confusedly,  for 
my  eyes  were  intent  upon  his  face,  and  his  own  fell  before  my 
gaze,  "As  for  thy  wife,  my  mother  will  charge  herself  with  the 
care  of  her  till  thy  return.  She  hath  conceived  a  great  liking 
for  her.  Surely  thou  wilt  feel  that  she  is  safe  in  the  charge  of 
the  Queen?" 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  117 

I  bowed  to  him  in  silence,  for  my  thoughts  were  in  a  tumult, 
and  I  could  not  trust  myself  to  speak. 

He  handed  to  me  the  letter  I  was  to  deliver  to  the  Governor, 
and  as  he  did  so  his  hand  shook  as  the  hand  of  one  with  a  palsy, 
while  his  eyes  sought  the  floor,  and  he  said  in  uncertain  tones: 

"  Ahrinziman,  it  is  because  of  my  friendship  for  thee  that  I 
send  thee  on  this  mission.  It  is  that  I  may  have  excuse  to  confer 
upon  thee  yet  higher  honors.  Thou  art  of  too  great  value  to 
myself  for  me  to  send  thee  forth  without  good  reason,  and  I 
shall  await  with  impatience  the  hour  of  thy  return,  Oh,  my  friend." 

His  words  were  the  words  of  friendship,  but  I  knew  that  he 
lied  to  me,  for  I  could  read  his  thoughts.  Though  I  could  read  at 
the  time  the  thoughts  of  none  other  around  me,  I  could  read  his, 
and  I  knew  that  he  lied,  for  in  his  heart  he  said  that  I  should 
never  return,  since  he  was  only  sending  me  to  find,  not  honor 
but  my  grave. 

In  my  anger  at  his  ingratitude  and  treachery  I  would  have 
drawn  my  dagger  and  stabbed  him  to  the  heart  as  he  sat  there, 
for  he  and  I  were  alone;  there  was  none  to  witness  our  audience. 
But  I  restrained  myself,  and  though  my  fingers  played  with  the 
hilt  of  my  dagger,  and  mine  eyes  gazed  at  him  with  a  steady 
look  of  scorn,  till  he  quailed  beneath  their  glance  and  thought 
to  summon  his  guards,  I  drew  not  my  weapon.  I  contented 
myself  with  a  haughty  bow  to  him  as  I  said: 

"Oh,  Sire!  Well  do  I  know  how  to  value  the  favors  of 
Kings,  and  greatly  do  I  thank  thee  for  this  last,  this  crowning 
mark  of  thy  honor  and  thy  regard." 

Then  I  went  forth,  and  sought  Zuleika,  that  she  and  I  together 
might  leave  this  Palace  of  evil  omen. 

Again  and  again  I  sought  to  take  her  with  me.  Nay,  in  my 
anger  and  suspicion  I  even  tried  to  take  her  by  force,  for  she 
refused  to  go  with  me.  She  wept  and  implored  that  I  should 
leave  her  where  she  was.  She  vowed  she  believed  in  the  friend- 
ship of  the  Queen,  and  she  refused  to  believe  that  any  harm  was 
meant  to  me,  and  at  last  when  I  tried  to  force  her  away  she 
turned  upon  me  in  hot  anger,  and  vowed  she  would  rouse  the 
Palace  with  her  screams  if  I  did  not  go  and  leave  her.  "Wait," 
said  she,  "and  if  thou  dost  not  return  I  will  go  to  thee,  but  I 
shall  not  be  hurried  thus  away  for  thy  foolish  fancies,  thy  un- 
worthy suspicions  of  thy  best  friends. " 

At  last  I  was  so  angry  that  I  left  her,  saying  in  my  wrath 


n8  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

that  if  her  heart  was  with  her  new  friends  rather  than  with  her 
husband,  they  might  keep  her  body  with  them  also;  but  in  mine 
own  mind  I  vowed  to  myself  that  if  they  sent  me  away  I  would 
return  unseen,  as  I  well  knew  how  to  do,  and  would  learn  the 
meaning  of  their  strange  desire  to  be  thus  rid  of  me. 

It  was  early  morning  when  I  set  forth,  and  all  that  day  I 
rode  on  at  the  head  of  my  troop  of  soldiers,  and  it  was  as  though 
all  the  black  devils  of  hell  rode  with  me,  so  full  of  bitter  anger 
was  my  heart,  so  bent  was  I  upon  my  scheme  of  vengeance. 
"For,"  said  I  to  myself,  "if  Zuleika  be  false  to  me,  if  she  hath 
stayed  while  I  am  sent  away  in  order  that  she  may  become  the 
plaything  of  the  King,  verily  as  there  is  a  sky  above  our  heads, 
as  certainly  as  there  are  powers  of  evil  around  us,  it  shall  be  no 
common  revenge  that  I  shall  exact  from  those  who  have  wrought 
the  ruin  of  my  life.  And  by  the  powers  of  Ahriman,  they  shall 
die,  each  one.  The  devils  of  the  darkest  hell  shall  drag  them 
down  there  together.  If  truly  thou  hast  spoken  to  me,  Oh  my 
dead  master,  if  thy  mirror  lied  not  when  it  showed  unto  me  the 
vision  of  Zuleika  and  the  King,  then  of  a  truth  will  I  call  on  thee 
and  thine  unseen  servants  of  Darkness  to  aid  me  in  my  revenge." 


I  had  scarce  quitted  the  Palace  half  an  hour  ere  Zuleika, 
who  was  all  impatience  to  possess  herself  of  my  mysterious 
parchments,  went  to  look  in  the  former  hiding  place  for  them. 
As  I  had  been  led  to  imagine  that  I  was  only  to  be  absent  for  a 
short  time  she  did  not  suppose  I  would  take  them  with  me,  and 
she  was  still  further  reassured  upon  this  point  by  seeing  that  I 
departed  without  any  box  resembling  the  one  she  knew  to  con- 
tain the  coveted  scrolls.  Her  dismay  may  be  imagined  when 
she  found  the  hiding  place  empty  and  the  papers  and  box  gone ! 

She  turned  deadly  pale,  and  for  the  first  few  moments  it 
seemed  to  her  that  all  was  lost,  for  I  must  have  grown  suspicious 
and  taken  them  with  me.  The  glance  which  the  court  Astrolo- 
ger had  obtained  of  the  papers  had  been  too  hurried  to  allow 
of  his  mastering  their  contents  in  a  way  to  prove  of  any  practical 
value,  and  who  knew  what  I  might  do  were  my  suspicions  fully 
aroused.  Zuleika  flattered  herself  that  she  had  sent  me  away, 
angry,  no  doubt,  but  yet  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  of  her  infidelity 
to  me,  and  she  hoped  that  ere  I  discovered  it  she  would  make 
her  position  with  the  King  so  secure  as  to  enable  her  to  defy 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  119 

my  anger.  She  even  hoped  that  she  might  be  able  to  evade  all 
consequences  of  her  treachery. 

Now,  however,  with  the  scrolls  gone  as  well  as  myself,  how 
were  they  to  protect  the  King?  At  any  moment  he  might  be 
taken  ill  again,  and  her  fine  castle  might  tumble  about  her  ears. 
She  dared  not  tell  Artemisia  of  the  loss,  but  she  sent  for  the 
court  Astrologer,  and  with  many  wiles  beguiled  him  into  prom- 
ising to  help  her  in  keeping  the  disappearance  of  the  papers  a 
secret  till  it  was  possible  to  obtain  possession  of  them  again. 
This  he  assured  her  he  had  a  very  safe  plan  for  doing,  although 
he  declined  to  tell  her  what  it  was,  merely  assuring  her  that  there 
were  others  besides  her  husband  who  could  cast  spells  and  cause 
missing  property  to  be  found.  This  man  had  no  particular 
love  for  me,  as  indeed  he  could  hardly  have,  seeing  how  I  had 
supplanted  him  and  cast  discredit  upon  his  skill,  and  he  was  only 
too  ready  to  assist  in  hastening  my  downfall.  He  sought  out 
the  King,  and  with  much  caution  informed  him  that  from  study- 
ing the  stars  he  perceived  that  it  would  not  be  possible  that  I 
should  be  allowed  to  continue  my  journey;  were  I  to  do  so  disas- 
ter would  overtake  his  majesty.  "Oh,  Sire!"  said  the  Astrologer, 
"while  he  lives,  danger  will  menace  the  person  of  the  King, 
for  so  did  it  appear  in  my  vision,  and  only  with  his  death  will 
the  life  of  your  majesty  be  secure." 

The  Astrologer  prostrated  himself  before  the  King,  but  even 
while  his  head  was  bent  down  his  cunning  eyes  were  striving 
to  read  the  effect  his  words  had  produced  upon  his  master. 

As  for  Selim,  he  was  visibly  disturbed,  and  after  twisting 
nervously  at  the  fringe  of  his  sash  for  some  moments,  he  replied: 

"Thou  sayest  that  were  Ahrinziman  once  dead  his  power 
would  cease  and  I  should  be  safe.  To  secure  this  it  needs  not 
that  we  should  recall  him,  for,  behold,  I  have  myself  thought 
his  power  boded  no  good  to  me,  and  though  he  carries  with  him 
a  letter  of  friendship  to  deliver  unto  the  Governor,  I  have  sent 
a  swift  messenger  before  him  with  another,  wherein  I  have 
directed  that  he  be  imprisoned  and  slain.  It  needs  not  that 
we  recall  him.  I  desire  not  his  return." 

The  Astrologer  started  with  surprise  at  this  speech,  and 
answered:  "True,  Oh  King,  yet  the  Governor  of  that  city  hath 
no  knowledge  of  occult  things.  He  will  slay  Ahrinziman,  with- 
out doubt,  but  he  will  not  extract  from  him  first  the  knowledge 
we  desire.  Ahrinziman  will  die  without  releasing  your  High- 


120  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

ness  from  his  spell,  so  that  the  last  state  of  your  Majesty  will 
be  worse  than  the  first.  Had  my  august  Master  thought  fit  to 
consult  me,  his  humble  slave,  I  would  have  warned  him  of  this 
danger.  Now  I  only  pray  that  Ahrinziman  may  be  recalled,  in 
order  that  ere  he  die  we  may  force  him  to  withdraw  his  spells, 
and  disclose  the  source  of  his  secret  power.  It  needs  not  that 
he  should  approach  your  majesty,  or  guess  why  he  hath  been 
recalled." 

Again  the  King  hesitated,  then  fear  for  his  own  safety,  and 
a  feverish  desire  to  put  an  end  to  his  present  state  of  suspense, 
prevailed,  and  summoning  his  scribe  he  gave  the  required  order 
for  my  return,  and  a  messenger  was  sent  in  hot  haste  to  bring 
me  back,  on  the  plea  that  the  King  had  forgotten  something 
he  desired  to  tell  me.  The  crafty  Astrologer  returned  from  his 
audience  well  pleased,  for  he  did  not  doubt  that  he  should  now 
be  able  to  get  me  into  his  power,  and  force  me  by  means  of  tor- 
ture to  disclose  where  I  had  put  the  missing  parchments. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  DARK  ANGEL'S  HELP 

At  nightfall  we  pitched  our  tents  on  the  outskirts  of  the  Great 
Salt  Desert,  and  so  soon  as  I  had  seen  to  the  arrangements  for 
the  repose  of  my  escort,  I  retired  to  my  own  tent,  and  gave  strict 
orders  that  I  should  on  no  account  be  disturbed. 

As  soon  as  all  was  quiet  around  me,  save  for  the  measured 
tramp  of  the  sentry  before  the  door  of  my  tent,  I  took  from  my 
bosom  the  scroll  which  I  had  last  brought  from  the  secret  reposi- 
tory of  my  dead  master,  and  trimming  the  little  lamp  which 
burned  in  my  tent,  sat  down  to  try  to  read  over  again  all  that  it 
said  about  the  methods  of  controlling  the  mysterious  forces  of 
the  Astral  plane.  I  had  a  vague  confused  idea  of  turning  those 
powers  into  an  instrument  to  execute  my  meditated  vengeance, 
but  in  the  agitated  state  of  my  mind  I  felt  it  impossible  to  think 
out  any  plan  clearly,  or  to  still  the  wild  throbbing  of  my  brain. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  121 

I  would  have  given  anything  now  to  possess  again  the  magic 
mirror  which  I  had  destroyed;  I  wanted  to  see  Zuleika,  to  learn 
what  were  her  real  motives  in  remaining  behind.  In  vain  I  tried 
to  read  the  scroll;  the  characters  danced  before  my  eyes,  and 
only  a  word  here  and  there  could  I  decipher.  I  thrust  it  from 
me  at  last,  and  rose  to  pace  backwards  and  forwards  in  the  little 
tent,  as  a  relief  to  my  restlessness. 

I  had  taken  but  a  few  turns  when  the  sound  of  a  deep  sigh, 
uttered  as  if  in  mockery  of  my  own,  saluted  my  ears,  and  in  the 
farther  corner  of  the  tent  I  saw  a  dim,  black,  shadowy  figure, 
shrouded  in  a  mantle.  It  seemed  to  waver  and  grow  faint, 
then  gather  together  again,  and  become  more  distinct,  yet  always 
with  the  appearance  of  being  a  mere  reflection,  a  veritable 
shadow  thrown  upon  the  curtains  of  the  tent.  For  several 
minutes  I  watched  it  in  silence,  then  I  called  aloud,  though  in  a 
low  voice,  "Who  art  thou?  From  whence  hast  thou  come?" 

The  shadow  grew  darker,  stronger,  more  sharply  defined 
for  a  moment,  and  as  I  gazed  I  recognised  the  majestic  figure, 
the  regal  poise  of  the  shrouded  head  which  I  had  seen  in  the 
veiled  Angel  of  -Darkness  which  I  had  beheld  so  long  before  on 
this  very  desert  plain.  There  was  no  figure  visible  this  time, 
only  this  dark  shadow  of  its  form,  veiled  and  shrouded  as  before. 

A  soft  mocking  laugh  came  like  a  distant  echo  to  my  ears, 
and  the  sound  of  a  far-off  voice  seemed  to  speak  this  answer  to 
my  question: 

"Thou  dost  ask  who  I  am?  Thou,  who  shouldst  know  me 
well,  since  I  have  constituted  myself  the  guide  of  thy  life,  and 
have  helped  on  the  accomplishment  of  thine  ambition.  Thou 
didst  desire  to  climb,  and  thou  hast  climbed  high  already,  al- 
though thou  hast  not  yet  reached  the  pinnacle  of  thy  desire.  My 
hand  hath  helped  thee  up  step  by  step,  and  now  in  the  hour  of 
thine  anguish  thou  dost  still  hesitate  to  call  upon  me  for  aid. 
Thy  heart  is  sore.  Try,  then,  the  sweet  balm  of  vengeance 
which  I  can  offer  thee  to  soothe  its  pangs.'* 

"Thou  dost  speak  of  vengeance,  Oh  thou  Angel  of  Accursed- 
ness.  Canst  thou  show  me  how  to  pierce  a  Palace  wall,  and 
drag  from  its  shelter  those  who  I  deem  have  wronged  me?  Canst 
thou  show  me,  and  show  me  truly,  what  my  wife  doeth  now?  Of 
whom  she  dreams?  I  would  know  the  truth  as  it  appears  unto 
the  eyes  of  God.  Canst  thou,  whose  powers  are  evil,  show  me 
that  which  is  true?" 


122  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

The  figure  seemed  to  rise  up  before  me,  till  it  towered  above 
my  head,  and  casting  back  the  mantle  bade  me  look  upon  the 
face  of  the  dark  Angel,  and  gaze  into  his  eyes.  And  as  I  strove 
to  do  so  there  came  a  face,  as  living  and  distinct  as  mine  own, 
into  the  shadowy  form;  the  eyes  looked  with  steady  gaze  into 
mine  own,  until  it  seemed  as  though  they  would  scorch  me  with 
the  lightning  of  their  glance;  the  haughty  brows  frowned  at 
me  in  mingled  rage  and  scorn,  and  from  the  compressed  lips 
these  words  came  hissing  in  a  fierce  whisper: 

"Can  I  show  thee  those  things  which  are  true,  thou  dost 
ask?  Dost  thou  think  all  that  is  evil  must  be  false?  Is  there 
not  the  germ  of  truth  in  all  things?  Yea,  even  in  that  which 
would  have  seemed  the  grossest  falsehood  to  thee  once,  hath  it 
not  been  proved  already  there  was  truth?  I  am  an  Angel  of 
Darkness,  and  in  mine  own  dark  realm  I  reign  supreme,  over 
beings  as  vile  and  evil  as  any  in  our  dread  kingdom  of  Hell,  but 
in  all  my  court  there  are  no  liars;  they  who  lie  must  even  seek 
another  King,  since  I  have  naught  in  affinity  with  them.  Search 
the  Spirit  World  from  end  to  end,  if  thou  canst  even  in  imagina- 
tion do  it,  and  thou  wilt  ever  find  that  like  draws  unto  like; 
treachery  seeks  unto  it  its  fellow  traitor;  but  even  in  the  lowest 
depths,  such  as  thou  and  I  have  no  affinity  with  the  mean  liar, 
the  snake-like  friend,  who  stabs  in  the  dark,  while  his  face  smiles 
unto  thee  by  day.  Behold!  I  am  a  Ruler  in  Hell.  I  am  as 
evil  as  is  the  most  evil  of  the  Angels  of  Ahriman.  Murder  and 
War,  Bloodshed  and  Revenge,  Destruction  and  Fear,  follow  in 
my  train;  but  Falsehood  knows  me  not;  Deceit  flies  before  my 
approach,  and  if  I  show  thee  aught  there  will  be  at  least  truth  in 
what  I  show. 

"Thou  wouldst  see  thy  wife?    Behold  her  now." 

He  waved  his  shadowy  arm,  and  in  the  corner  of  the  tent 
there  appeared  a  crimson  star,  held  in  a  circlet  of  gold  like  unto 
a  crown.  Around  the  star  a  grey  mist  like  a  veil  appeared  to 
float,  and  as  it  grew  thinner  and  thinner  the  star  shone  out  with 
brighter  rays,  and  by  its  light  I  saw  that  the  circlet  of  gold  en- 
circled a  woman's  head.  More  and  more  transparent  grew  the 
misty  veil,  and  I  saw — Zuleika.  She  appeared  to  stand  before  a 
mirror  of  polished  steel,  and  to  poise  her  head  gracefully,  first  on  one 
side  and  then  upon  the  other,  while  she  watched  the  jewel  sparkle 
amidst  her  long  floating  hair;  and  her  face  was  wreathed  in  smiles 
as  she  admired  her  own  beauty  reflected  in  the  burnished  steel. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


123 


She  was  attired  in  her  richest  dress,  the  dress  which  Artemisia 
had  given  her,  and  her  bare  arms  and  throat  sparkled  with  jewels 
which  I  had  never  seen  her  wear.  "From  whence  had  she 
obtained  them?"  I  asked  in  my  jealous  anger. 

As  though  in  answer  to  my  thought,  she  raised  one  hand  to 
her  lips,  and  kissed  with  passionate  delight  a  ring  she  wore — 
a  man's  ring.  Oh,  powers  of  Heaven1  I  recognised  it  then. 
It  was  the  King's  Signet  Ring.  She  spread  out  her  hands  and 
looked  at  it,  as  a  child  admires  a  new  toy.  She  coquetted  with 
her  own  reflection;  she  pouted,  she  frowned,  she  smiled,  yea, 
she  even  half  blushed,  and  drooped  her  eyes  in  sweet  and  modest 
confusion,  as  though  she  parried  the  advances  of  a  too  ardent 
wooer.  It  was  not  my  wife  I  looked  at  then,  but  some  young 
shy  maid,  who  dreams  for  the  first  time  of  love. 

Suddenly  her  manner  changed,  as  a  fresh  mood  seized  her. 
She  threw  up  her  head  in  haughty  grace;  she  walked  a  few  steps 
forward  and  then  back,  as  though  she  were  a  Queen;  she  held 
out  her  hands,  as  though  to  raise  some  suppliant;  she  signed 
imperiously  to  an  imaginary  companion  to  begone,  and  turned 
away  with  a  contemptuous  frown,  and  a  proud  toss  of  her  head, 
worthy  of  a  Queen.  Then  she  changed  again.  She  became 
all  radiant  smiles,  all  bewitching  rapture,  and  held  out  her  arms 
as  though  to  embrace  some  one,  while  her  lips  murmured,  not 
my  name,  but  that  of  Selim. 

So  realistic  was  the  vision  that  in  my  rage  I  rushed  forward, 
dagger  in  hand,  to  stab  her  to  the  heart,  and  like  a  thing  of  mist 
she  vanished,  and  I  stood  alone  in  my  tent. 

Even  the  shadow  of  the  Dark  Angel  had  vanished,  but  his 
voice  was  still  audible  to  me,  and  as  I  drew  back,  trembling 
with  anger  and  disappointment,  he  said: 

"Thou -dost  know  now  how  false  is  this  daughter  of  the 
Serpent,  and  thou  would st  desire  to  kill  her.  If  so  thou  canst 
only  do  so  in  thine  own  material  body.  The  powers  which  I 
wield  have  no  influence  over  her,  or  over  that  false  Queen  who 
killed  thy  Mother,  and  hath  ruined  thine  own  life.  They  belong 
not  to  the  sphere  wherein  I  rule,  and  the  stars  of  those  two  women 
dominate  thine,  so  that  on  the  spiritual  plane  of  thine  earthly 
lives  they  shall  prevail  against  thee.  To  avenge  thy  wrongs 
upon  them  thou  must  obtain  power  of  a  material  kind,  and 
while  I  can  aid  thee  to  obtain  this,  I  cannot  affect  their  welfare, 
either  materially  or  spiritually.  With  Selim  it  is  different;  he 


i24  THF  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

hovers  between  two  spheres.  He  hath  certain  affinities  with 
thee,  through  thy  common  father,  and  he  is  already  subject  to 
their  influence.  If  thou  dost  desire  to  visit  the  Palace  at  Parsag- 
herd,  do  so  now. 

"Draw  around  this  earthly  body  of  thine  the  signs  used  by 
the  master  Jelal-ud-din,  that  it  may  rest  safely  till  thy  return. 
Then  go  forth  in  thy  spirit  form,  and  judge  for  thyself  if  I  have 
shown  thee  truly  the  nature  of  this  woman  whom  thou  hast  so 
madly  loved.  Go,  and  my  servants  shall  go  with  thee." 

The  voice  ceased,  and  I  took  up  mechanically  the  black  wand 
that  I  carried  always  with  me,  and  traced  out  upon  the  floor  the 
protecting  circles.  Then  wrapping  myself  in  my  mantle  I  laid 
my  body  down  as  though  to  rest,  while  in  my  heart  there  was  the 
most  fierce  tumult  of  emotions,  and  in  my  soul  the  chill  despair 
of  my  dead  hopes,  the  fearful  agony  of  withered  love. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

MY  REVENGE 

For  the  first  time  in  my  experience  I  was  fully  conscious  of  the 
process  by  which  a  spirit  can  leave  the  earthly  envelope  to  roam 
untrammelled  through  the  earth  plane.  As  I  withdrew  myself 
from  my  mortal  covering  I  felt  like  one  who  throws  off  a  cloak, 
and  after  two  or  three  slight  tremors  of  the  muscles  I  stood  forth 
in  my  spirit  form,  free  from  my  material  body,  save  for  a  fine 
thread  of  gossamer-like  texture,  which  still  attached  me  to  it,  and 
kept  it  animated  by  my  life  fluid. 

In  all  my  previous  experiences  I  had  been  unconscious  during 
the  change,  and  had  awakened,  as  one  wakes  from  sleep,  to  the 
knowledge  of  my  spiritual  surroundings.  But  on  this  occasion 
it  was  as  though  I  had  stepped  forth  upon  a  new  stage  of  life,  and 
as  I  did  so  had  withdrawn  the  curtain  which  veiled  its  scenes  and 
actors  from  my  mortal  sight. 

Around  me  I  perceived  the  spiritual  counterparts  of  all  ma- 
terial things,  but  they  no  longer  appeared  as  they  had  done  to  my 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  125 

mortal  sight.  Some  were  infinitely  more  beautiful;  others  had 
lost  all  trace  of  their  earthly  beauty,  by  reason  of  their  spiritual 
defilement.  My  own  body,  as  it  lay  before  my  eyes,  looked  as  I 
was  wont  to  see  myself,  but  it  appeared  veiled  by  clinging  cob- 
webs, like  garments  dipped  in  some  scorching  corrosive  fluid, 
and  stained  with  mud;  and  on  looking  at  my  spirit  form  I  per- 
ceived that  I  was  clothed  in  a  like  manner,  while  the  haggard 
wildness  of  my  features  had  been  transferred  from  the  clay-like 
image  of  myself  upon  the  ground  to  the  living,  suffering  spirit. 

I  passed  my  hand  across  my  brow,  to  clear  my  brain  and  steady 
my  wavering  thoughts,  then  " willing"  that  I  should  visit  Zuleika, 
I  felt  myself  rise  and  rush  through  the  air.  As  I  hurried  onward 
I  beheld  around  me,  above  and  below,  myriads  of  strange  beings 
of  every  shape  and  kind.  Those  phantasmal  creatures  I  had 
beheld  so  dimly  before  were  distinct  and  clear  to  my  vision  now: 
spirits  like  unto  myself,  human  in  their  forms  and  in  their  natures; 
some  bright  as  radiant  Angels,  others  dim  and  dark  and  full  of 
woe.  All  around  me,  on  every  side,  were  multitudinous  forms 
of  life:  man,  beast,  and  bird;  fishes  and  reptiles;  plants;  flowers; 
all  like  and  unlike  to  those  of  material  earth  life.  Stars  glowed 
above  me;  lights  flashed  up  and  down;  all  was  rush  and  hurry 
and  turmoil;  and  there  was  neither  rest  nor  peace  anywhere. 
Like  the  waves  of  a  mighty  ocean  the  life  of  the  astral  plane  surged 
to  and  fro. 

As  I  rushed  onwards  I  saw  that  I  was  accompanied  by  a  great 
train  of  spirits;  weird  creatures  of  phantom  shapes,  and  the 
human  spirits  of  dead  men  and  women  of  evil  lives.  Onward 
with  me  they  rushed,  howling,  shouting,  crying,  yelling  out  wild 
imprecations  and  fierce  cries  for  vengeance  upon  all  mankind, 
gesticulating  like  a  set  of  maniacs,  and  fighting  with  each  other 
like  a  pack  of  wolves.  Laughing  and  screaming  in  fiendish  joy 
at  the  thought  of  the  sport  which  awaited  them;  waving  their 
long,  skinny  arms  to  cheer  me  on,  and  mouthing  at  me  with  their 
hideous  faces;  shrieking  curses  upon  each  other  and  upon  me, 
even  while  each  one  struggled  to  get  the  foremost  place  beside 
me,  that  they  might  the  more  enjoy  the  expected  scene. 

Above  all  this  wild  throng  I  saw  the  floating  form  of  the  Dark 
Angel,  poised  upon  his  outspread  wings  like  a  majestic  bird  of 
prey,  wrho  watches  the  battle  from  afar  that  he  may  swoop  down 
only  to  carry  off  the  spoil  which  others  have  gathered  for  him. 
And  as  the  tide  floats  driftweeds  onward  upon  iu  restless  bosom, 


126  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINRIMAN 

so  were  I  and  my  wild  escort  floated  on  upon  the  current  of  my 
fierce  and  murderous  desires. 

We  reached  the  Palace  and  city  of  Parsagherd,  and  hung  like 
a  black  cloud  over  it  for  one  brief  moment,  ere  we  all  sank  down 
through  roofs  and  walls  which  no  longer  offered  any  obstruction 
to  our  passage.  We  entered  the  outer  court  which  led  to  my  own 
apartments,  and  passed  along  the  passage  to  that  inner  chamber 
where  Zuleika  had  slept  in  my  arms  so  many  times.  At  the  door 
I  paused,  and  like  a  rushing  torrent  that  meets  with  an  obstruction 
in  its  path,  the  rush  and  hurry  of  my  feverish  thoughts  seemed 
checked. 

I  could  not  enter.  The  memory  of  our  past  love,  the  thought 
of  all  the  sweetness  of  those  vanished  hours,  rose  up  as  a  barrier 
between  me  and  my  revenge.  The  goodness  and  purity,  the  faith 
and  trust,  of  the  dead  past,  were  like  white  Angels  with  outstretched 
wings  to  bar  the  way  against  sin  and  murder.  I  paused.  I 
wavered  for  a  moment  in  my  wild  thirst  for  vengeance.  I  half 
turned  back,  and  dropped  the  curtain  I  had  begun  to  draw  aside. 
Another  moment  and  my  good  Angel  would  have  conquered,  and 
I  should  have  left  my  meditated  deed  undone. 

But  at  this  critical  moment,  while  the  scales  trembled  in  the 
balance,  the  voice  of  Zuleika,  of  my  faithless  wife,  fell  upon  my 
ears,  speaking  in  soft  dulcet  tones  fond  words  of  love  unto  my 
rival.  With  a  furious  cry  of  wrath  I  tore  aside  the  curtain  from 
the  doorway,  and  looked  in. 

There  she  sat,  attired  as  I  had  seen  her  in  the  vision  in  my 
tent;  the  jewelled  circlet  in  her  hair,  the  rich  dress,  the  sparkling 
gems,  the  King's  ring  upon  her  finger,  all  exactly  as  I  had  seen 
it.  And  now  upon  her  face  there  was  the  evil,  seducing  smile; 
the  shameless  glance  of  the  temptress  was  in  her  eyes,  and  she 
looked  as  I  had  seen  her  first  in  Jelal-ud-din's  mirror. 

And  Selim  sat  beside  her.  His  arms  encircled  her.  His  lips 
were  pressed  to  hers,  again  and  yet  again,  in  passionate  kisses. 

I  could  bear  no  more.  With  frantic  haste  I  rushed  upon  them, 
forgetting  that  as  a  spirit  I  was  invisible,  and  all  my  angry  words 
inaudible.  Me  they  saw  not,  but  a  violent  trembling  seized  the 
King;  a  cold  wind  as  of  ice  enveloped  Zuleika,  and  she  drew  back 
from  her  lover  in  a  sudden  alarm.  I  tried  to  grasp  the  King.  I 
tried  to  strangle  him.  But  to  my  astonishment  my  hands  made 
no  impression  upon  him.  It  was  as  though  I  had  become  an 
intangible  shadow  myself.  My  hands  glided  off  his  body,  as 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMA  127 

though  the  protecting  armour  of  his  material  form  offered  an 
impervious  wall  against  all  my  attacks.  I  drew  my  dagger,  or 
rather  the  spiritual  counterpart  of  the  dagger,  which  I  usually 
wore:  my  dagger  was  like  myself,  a  shadow,  beside  the  strong 
covering  of  the  material  shell. 

Furious  with  helpless  rage,  I  stamped  upon  the  ground,  and 
to  their  ears,  muffled  by  the  flesh,  my  steps  gave  out  no  sound. 
Fear  filled  both  their  hearts,  but  it  was  a  nameless  fear  of  the 
unknown. 

In  my  hot  anger  I  called  aloud  for  some  power  to  aid  my 
vengeance,'  and  the  mocking  laughter  of  the  Dark  Angel  answered 
me,  as  he  said : 

' '  Oh,  fool  1  Fool !  To  think  that  thou,  as  a  spirit,  couldst  pene- 
trate the  thick  armour  of  mortality.  But  behold  those  who  can! 
See  whom  I  have  sent  unto  thine  aid." 

A  cloud  enveloped  us  all ;  a  cloud  as  black  as  the  darkest  storm 
cloud  of  night,  as  dense  as  a  stream  of  filthy  black  mud.  And 
in  the  midst  of  its  darkness  I  beheld  strange  hideous  gigantic 
forms;  frightful  creatures  like  human  apes;  their  hands  like  giant 
hands;  their  arms  like  flails;  their  bodies  short  and  misshapen, 
like  some  fearful  abortions  of  human  birth.  These  creatures 
wrestled  and  fought  as  they  enshrouded  us  with  their  foul  dark 
atmosphere,  and  then  the  foremost  of  them  grasped  the  King 
with  a  grip  of  iron,  and  strangling  him  in  an  instant,  as  a  dog 
would  kill  a  rat,  flung  his  quivering  body  upon  the  ground  at 
Zuleika's  feet,  and  like  a  wave  of  darkness  the  foul  creatures  were 
gone  as  suddenly  as  they  had  come. 

Fierce  as  had  been  my  desire  for  revenge,  I  shuddered  at  the 
horrible  scene,  and  scarce  conscious  of  anything  but  the  horrible 
face  of  the  murdered  King,  I  rushed  away  from  the  fatal  spot. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

I  AM  PROCLAIMED  KING 

It  was  well  that  I  returned  so  quickly  to  my  earthly  body,  for 
I  found  that  a  horrible  looking  low  earth  bound  spirit  was  already 
touching  it,  and  striving  to  take  possession.  The  protecting  ring 


128          THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

of  astral  fire  had  died  out  in  one  place,  and  through  this  gap  the 
dark  spirit  had  entered.  In  my  wrath  I  rushed  forward,  almost 
annihilating  the  wretched  creature  with  the  withering  scorn  of  my 
glance,  and  he  cowered  down  abjectly  at  my  feet  and  slunk  away, 
while  I,  re-entering  my  body  with  a  violent  and  painful  shock, 
awoke  with  the  feeling  of  having  dreamed  some  dreadful  night- 
mare vision,  and  it  was  some  moments  before  I  collected  my 
thoughts  sufficiently  to  realize  that  my  late  experience  had  been 
no  dream,  but  a  dread  reality. 

While  I  was  thinking  over  what  had  passed  I  heard  a  hurried 
whispering  outside  my  tent,  then  the  curtain  was  raised  cautiously 
and  some  one  looked  in.  With  an  exclamation  of  pleasure  I 
sprang  up,  for  I  recognized  my  father's  faithful  friend  Al  Zulid. 
I  had  sent  a  messenger  to  him  when  I  left  Parsagherd,  but  I  had 
not  hoped  that  he  would  meet  me  so  soon,  and  after  the  terrible 
adventure  of  the  last  hours  his  presence  was  doubly  welcome,  for 
I  had  resolved  to  confide  all  to  him,  and  to  be  guided  by  his 
counsel. 

He  greeted  me  with  much  affection,  and  heard  with  a  sympathy 
very  welcome  to  my  sere  heart  the  story  of  my  wrongs,  and  of  the 
vengeance  I  had  already  exacted  for  them  in  so  strange  a  manner. 

"  Said  I  not  unto  thee  to  beware  of  Artemisia?  Did  I  not  warn 
thee,  Ahrinziman,  not  to  trust  them  for  an  hour?  Verily  do  I 
believe  that  the  Queen  hath  had  a  large  share  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  thy  dishonor,  and  of  a  truth  thou  and  I  shall  pay  off  to- 
gether the  debts  we  owe  her.  But  it  will  not  be  wise  to  let  others 
know  that  thou  hast  in  effect  slain  the  King.  We  must  act  as 
though  we  believed  him  still  to  be  alive,  and  it  will  be  time  enough 
to  speak  of  him  as  dead  when  others  shall  tell  us  of  it." 

"Thou  dost  not  believe  that  he  is  dead?  That  I  have  seen 
him  die  even  as  I  tell  thee?" 

"I  think,  friend,  that  thou  hast  had  a  troubled  dream,  mayhap. 
Perchance  it  may  be  even  as  thou  sayest,  but  till  I  know  from 
others  that  Selim  hath  died,  and  died  even  as  thou  sayest,  I  cannot 
well  believe  so  strange  a  thing.  Think  not  that  I  despise  thy 
vision.  Frown  not  so  angrily  upon  me,  son  of  my  dead  master, 
for  I  do  not  doubt  thou  hast  seen  something.  The  gifts  of  divina- 
tion are  thine  by  right  of  birth,  even  as  the  throne  of  Persia  shall 
be  thine,  but  I  think  that  thine  agitated  frame  of  mind  may  have 
colored  thy  vision,  and  given  it  a  more  extreme  ending  than  hath 
belonged  to  it  in  truth.  But  come,  thou  art  awake  now.  The 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  129 

time  for  dreams  is  past,  and  if  thou  wouldst  avenge  upon  Arte- 
misia thine  own  wrongs,  and  those  of  thy  parents,  we  must  lose  no 
time.  Prince  Ahmed  is  with  me,  and  so  are  our  followers,  for 
we  were  on  the  march  to  Parsagherd  when  thy  messenger  met 
me,  and  I  turned  aside  to  seek  thee.  Come  and  see  Ahmed  with 
me,  for  he  hath  dreamed  of  reigning,  since  thou  wouldst  not  take 
thy  father's  place,  and  he  will  not  much  like  to  resign  his  dreams 
in  thy  favor.  Yet  must  he  even  do  so,  for  thou  art  first.  Thy 
name  comes  before  his,  and  I  swore  to  El  Jazid  that  should  I  find 
Ahrinziman  yet  in  life  I  would  devote  all  my  influence,  all  my 
power  to  place  thee,  the  favored  son,  upon  the  throne  of  Persia." 

"I  thank  thee,  Al  Zulid,"  said  I,  grasping  his  hand  with  much 
emotion.  "Thou  art  indeed  the  truest  of  true  friends,  but  can 
not  we  arrange  with  Ahmed  so  that  he  shall  not  be  wholly  dis- 
appointed? Cannot  we  share  the  kingdom?  Cannot  he  and  I 
reign  each  over  a  part,  in  unity  not  in  enmity?  I  confess  that  I 
I  do  now  desire  to  reign.  Love  is  dead  for  me,  but  Ambition 
may  yet  be  my  "God  and  Power  my  Idol.  I  may  still  seek  in 
public  life  the  solace  of  distinction.  Persia  shall  be  my  mistress, 
since  I  have  now  no  wife,  and  care  for  the  greatness  of  my  country 
shall  fill  the  void  left  in  my  heart.  Besides,"  added  I,  grinding 
my  teeth  with  rage,  "besides  that,  have  I  not  my  revenge  still 
incomplete?  Shall  I  not  grasp  at  power  that  I.  may  wrestle  upon 
more  equal  terms  with  Artemisia?  Her  son  is  dead,  whether  thou 
dost  believe  it  or  not,  for  I  have  seen  him  die;  but  he  is  only  one, 
and  they  who  have  wronged  me  were  three.  Lead  me  to  thy 
troops,  and  to  Prince  Ahmed,  and  what  seems  wise  and  right  I 
will  do,  for  I  must  no  more  delay  to  take  up  the  heritage  which 
is  mine  by  right  of  birth  and  deed  of  gift." 

"Good,  Ahrinziman,  King  of  Persia.  But  it  must  not  be 
thou  who  dost  seek  Ahmed;  he  must  come  to  thee,  and  I  will 
bring  him  hither." 

So  saying  he  went  forth,  and  presently  returned  accompanied 
by  Ahmed  and  the  principal  officers  of  his  army,  as  well  as  the 
Vizier  Babadul.  My  tent  was  lighted  only  by  a  small  lamp,  but 
a  light  watch  fire  burned  outside,  and  as  Al  Zulid  held  back  the 
curtains  of  my  tent,  its  rays  fell  full  upon  my  face  and  figure.  As 
I  stepped  forth  to  meet  Ahmed ,  and  to  assure  him  that  my  desire 
was  to  divide  the  Kingdom  with  him,  not  to  claim  the  whole  for 
myself,  the  light  from  the  fire  illuminated  my  features  and  Babadul 
and  the  Generals  with  him,  who  had  known  my  father  well,  uttered 


I3o  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

an  exclamation  of  surprise,  for  the  likeness  to  my  dead  father, 
not  alone  in  feature  and  figure,  but  in  gesture  and  speech,  was 
so  strong  they  could  almost  have  believed  it  was  El  Jazid  himself 
who  stood  again  before  them.  Only  it  was  like  El  Jazid  as  he 
had  been  in  youth,  ere  care  had  furrowed  his  brow  and  sorrow 
dimmed  the  lustre  of  his  eyes  and  the  pride  of  his  carriage. 

As  for  Ahmed,  he  regarded  me  in  sullen  astonishment  and 
anger.  He  refused  my  proffered  hand,  and  bowing  haughtily 
said: 

"I  cannot  share  the  Kingdom  with  thee.  It  is  mine  or  it  is 
thine,  but  I  at  least  will  have  no  divided  inheritage.  I  will  owe 
to  the  courtesy  and  policy  of  no  man  the  power  which  must  be 
mine  by  right  or  not  at  all.  I  withdraw  myself  and  my  claims 
since  Ben  Al  Zulid  and  Babadul  have  found  thee,  who  are  named 
before  me  in  my  father's  decree.  But  I  claim  for  myself  perfect 
freedom  of  action.  I  will  owe  no  allegiance  unto  thee."  Then 
turning  upon  his  heel  he  strode  from  the  tent,  and  mounting  upon 
his  horse  rode  away. 

As  soon  as  he  was  gone  the  others  crowded  around  me,  each 
eager  to  assure  me  of  their  fidelity,  and  then  Al  Zulid  advised  that 
we  should  go  forth,  and  that  I  should  show  myself  unto  the  troops, 
to  whom  he  had  already  explained  who  I  was,  and  why  he  had 
turned  aside  from  his  march  to  meet  me. 

Among  the  soldiers,  and  with  the  populace  in  Persia,  Ben  Al 
Zulid  was  a  great  power.  He  was  a  favorite  with  everyone. 
His  powerful  physique,  his  splendid  military  talents,  his  undaunted 
courage,  his  success  as  a  commander,  all  contributed  to  make  him 
popular  with  a  warlike  people,  while  his  unswerving  fidelity  and 
his  noble  nature  won  him  the  trust  and  confidence  of  all  who 
knew  him.  I  verily  believe  that  had  he  chosen  to  grasp  the  regal 
sceptre  for  himself,  instead  of  for  me,  he  would  have  been  elected 
to  the  throne  with  acclamations  of  joy. 

As  it  was,  when  he  led  me  forth  mounted  upon  my  favorite 
horse  and  surrounded  by  the  Generals  who  had  led  the  army  of 
my  late  father  through  so  many  successful  campaigns,  and  pre- 
sented me  to  the  assembled  troops  as  the  true  King,  appointed 
by  El  Jazid  himself  to  succeed  him,  there  went  up  a  great  shout  of 
"  Long  live  the  King  Ahrinziman !  Long  life  to  the  son  of  El  Jazid ! 
Down  with  Queen  Artemisia  and  her  feeble  son!  Long  may  a 
King  reign  who  can  restore  the  fading  glory  to  Persia!" 

The  day  was  breaking  and  the  red  rays  of  the  rising  sun 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  131 

flashed  redly  upon  the  waving  spears  and  nodding  plumes  of  the 
great  cavalcade  of  warriors  before  me,  as  the  whole  army  collected 
by  Al  Zulid  shouted  forth  my  name  and  greeted  me  as  their  new 
King,  and  for  one  brief  moment  the  triumph  of  my  ambitious 
desires  seemed  as  a  solace  to  my  wounded  heart,  and  the  first  sip 
from  the  cup  of  power,  sweet  to  my  lips.  And  then  there  rose 
before  my  eyes  again  the  vision  of  Zuleika,  as  she  had  hung  so 
fondly  on  my  rival's  breast  and  whispered  her  words  of  love  to 
him,  till  he  changed  into  the  horrible,  distorted,  hideous  corpse  I 
had  seen  lying  at  her  feet.  Then  did  all  my  thoughts  of  triumph 
turn  to  dust  and  ashes;  all  my  exultation  to  bitterness;  all  the 
sweetness  of  the  cup  of  prosperity  to  gall  and  wormwood,  even 
as  I  tasted  that  first  sip. 

I  bowed  as  one  in  a  dream.  I  bowed  mechanically  in  answer 
to  the  ringing  cheers;  and  as  Al  Zulid  gave  the  order  to  resume 
the  march  to  Parsagherd  he  put  his  hand  upon  the  bridle  of  my 
horse,  and  bending  down  his  head,  whispered: 

"Awake!  Awake!  Ahrinziman.  Leave  thy  dreams  of  love 
and  disappointment  behind  thee,  for  a  new  life,  the  life  of  action 
and  of  power,  lies  before  thee,  and  it  shall  bring  consolation  even 
for  a  woman's  fickle  smiles.  It  is  the  time  to  act,  not  to  dream 
of  that  dead  past  of  thine  affections." 


CHAPTER   XXVII 

I  ENTER  MY  CAPITAL 

When  Zuleika  recovered  from  the  first  shock  of  dismay  and 
horror  at  seeing  the  lover  she  was  caressing  die  in  so  sudden  and 
so  unaccountable  a  way,  in  so  terrible  a  manner,  her  first  thought 
was  of  the  danger  to  herself  at  being  found  with  the  dead  body 
in  her  sleeping  chamber.  She  had  seen  nothing  of  me,  or  of  those 
horrible  phantoms  who  had  killed  Selim.  She  thought  he  had 
died  in  convulsions.  She  felt  a  dim  belief  that  I  was  in  some 
way  responsible  for  the  catastrophe,  but  she  had  no  idea  that  I 
had  been  actually  in  the  room.  What  to  do  she  did  not  know. 
She  could  not  touch  Selim 's  body  now,  fond  as  she  fancied  she 
had  been  of  him  ten  minutes  before.  Neither  dare  she  leave  it 


132  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

where  it  lay,  to  be  found  in  her  room  by  Artemisia.  Trembling 
and  sobbing  she  sought  out  the  trusty  slave  who  had  tended  her 
from  a  child,  and  who  had  brought  to  her  first  the  knowledge  of 
the  King's  admiration  when  she  was  at  Herat.  To  this  woman 
she  related  what  had  happened,  and  after  a  short  conference  it 
was  agreed  that  Selim's  body  should  be  taken  through  the  secret 
passage  by  which  he  had  entered  Zuleika's  room,  and  laid  upon 
his  own  bed,  there  to  be  discovered  by  his  own  attendants,  who 
would  fancy  he  had  died  suddenly  in  the  night.  Zuleika  and  the 
faithful  slave  dared  not  summon  anyone  to  aid  them  in  their  task, 
but  fortunately  the  slave  was  a  large,  powerful  woman,  while  the 
King,  though  tall,  was  a  slender  man,  and  not  heavy,  so  that  while 
the  woman  carried  the  poor  contorted  body  in  her  arms,  Zuleika, 
with  much  fear  and  trembling,  helped  to  support  it,  and  between 
them  they  carried  it  through  the  short  passage  and  laid  it  upon 
the  bed. 

They  then  shut  the  secret  doors,  and  Zuleika,  who  was  by  this 
time  almost  in  hysterics,  was  laid  upon  her  own  couch  and  tended 
by  the  faithful  slave,  who  kept  all  others  away  from  the  bedside, 
lest  the  state  of  Zuleika's  mind,  her  wild  weeping  and  great  terror, 
should  arouse  suspicion. 

Thus  did  the  night  pass,  and  with  early  morning  the  King's 
death  was  discovered  by  one  of  the  attendants,  who  ran  in  great 
alarm  to  call  the  Queen. 

Consternation  reigned  everywhere. 

As  for  Artemisia,  she  was  like  a  tigress  that  hath  been  robbed 
of  her  young.  In  her  frantic  grief  she  hung  over  the  dead  body 
of  her  son,  and  refused  to  believe  that  he  could  be  dead.  She 
kissed  the  poor  swollen,  livid  lips;  she  caressed  the  senseless  head; 
she  strove  to  straighten  the  twisted  limbs,  to  warm  the  icy  body 
by  contact  with  her  own  passionately  throbbing  heart;  she  held 
her  dead  child  in  her  arms,  and  rocked  him  on  her  bosom, 
as  though  he  were  still  the  infant  upon  whom  she  had  lav- 
ished all  her  love,  and  to  whom  she  had  turned  in  her  slighted 
affection. 

She  turned  like  a  wild  beast  upon  all  who  tried  to  touch  the 
dead  man,  or  draw  her  away  from  him.  For  hours  she  continued 
her  wild,  useless  efforts  to  restore  him,  forgetting,  fortunately  for 
Zuleika,  all  else,  in  her  attempts  to  revive  her  son.  Then,  at  last, 
the  full  measure  of  her  woe  broke  upon  her  mind,  and  with  a  mad 
shriek  of  grief,  a  frantic  cry  of  despair,  she  sank  insensible  upon 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  133 

her  son's  body,  while  the  wild  wail  of  her  attendant  maidens  rent 
the  air  in  lamentations  over  the  dead  Selim. 

It  was  by  this  time  late  in  the  afternoon.  I  and  my  troops 
had  reached  the  Palace  of  Parsagherd.  We  had  met  the  messen- 
ger sent  by  Selim  to  recall  me,  and  his  presence  gave  me  a  good 
pretext  for  entering  the  city  quietly,  without  appearing  to  know 
aught  of  what  had  befallen  the  King. 

We  met  no  opposition  anywhere,  scarcely  did  our  appearance 
excite  surprise.  The  awful  events  in  the  Palace  filled  the  public 
mind,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  things.  Everywhere  were 
scattered  groups  talking  over  the  strange  death  of  Selim,  the  news 
of  which  had  spread  like  wild-fire  through  the  city.  Even  when 
we  reached  the  Palace  gates  no  one  opposed  our  entrance,  when 
I  showed  the  keepers  of  the  gates  the  order  for  my  return. 

Ben  Al  Zulid  had  turned  very  pale  when  he  heard  the  news 
of  Selim 's  death,  and  had  exchanged  a  hurried  glance  with  me, 
but  he  was  careful  not  to  betray  our  previous  knowledge,  and  we 
rode  into  the  court  yard  of  the  Palace  unopposed,  amidst  a  throng 
of  bewildered  soldiers  and  courtiers. 

Not  with  cries  of  joy  was  my  coming  welcomed,  but  as  I  drew 
near  to  the  Palace  door  there  fell  upon  our  ears  the  long,  wild, 
lamentation,  the  mournful  cry  of  the  Queen's  women,  as  they 
raised  the  death  wail  over  the  murdered  King. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

MY  WIFE 

A  short  conference  took  place  between  Al  Zulid  and  the  leaders 
of  the  late  government.  The  decree  of  El  Jazid  was  ex- 
hibited to  them,  and  it  was  made  plain  to  the  minds  of  Artemisia's 
friends  that  I  had  behind  me  a  powrer  strong  enough  to  support 
my  claims.  The  death  of  Selim  left  no  pretext  for  opposing  my 
elevation,  and  whatever  might  be  the  secret  feelings  of  those  about 
Selim 's  court,  it  was  evidently  not  thought  wise  to  display  any 
animosity  towards  me.  Moreover  I  was  not  without  friends,  even 
among  the  late  King's  courtiers,  and  these  all  hoped  to  share  in 
my  prosperity. 


I34  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

Thus  was  my  elevation  to  the  throne  accomplished  without 
any  violent  opposition,  and  even  Artemisia  herself  had  no  excuse 
for  interfering  with  me. 

The  obsequies  of  Selim  were  conducted  with  much  splendour 
(as  is  the  custom  in  the  East).  Artemisia,  who  was  still  half 
frantic  in  her  grief,  remained  unmolested  in"  her  own  apartments, 
attended  by  her  women,  and  unaware  of  my  arrival,  since  I  shrank 
from  intruding  upon  her  at  such  a  time,  and  resolved  to  defer  my 
revenge  against  her  till  a  more  fitting  season,  merely  ordering 
that  she  should  not  be  allowed  to  leave  the  Palace. 

Zuleika  I  had  not  seen.  She  also  was  in  effect  a  prisoner. 
She  had  heard  with  wonder,  not  unmixed  with  alarm,  of  the 
strange  events  which  were  taking  place,  and  of  my  sudden  eleva- 
tion to  power.  Her  first  thought  was  regret  that  she  had  not  been 
faithful  to  me,  her  second,  relief  in  remembering  that  I  was  in  all 
probability  ignorant  of  her  falsehood.  And  as  she  recovered 
a  little  from  the  shock  of  Selim's  death  she  began  to  consider  how 
best  to  turn  the  unexpected  change  to  her  own  advantage.  She 
wondered  that  I  had  not  come  at  once  to  see  her,  as  she  felt  sure 
my  first  impulse  would  have  been  under  ordinary  circumstances. 
She  felt  somewhat  uneasy  at  my  strange  absence,  but  hoped  it  might 
be  due  to  other  causes  than  displeasure.  She  wished  she  had  not 
been  quite  so  angry  with  me  when  we  parted,  and  at  last  resolved 
to  send  word  to  me,  to  ask  if  I  had  forgotten  Zuleika.  Meantime 
she  had  attired  herself  in  her  simplest  yet  most  becoming  manner, 
and  removed  as  far  as  possible  all  traces  of  her  late  agitation. 

I  had  only  just  awakened  from  a  short  sleep  of  utter  exhaus- 
tion when  Zuleika's  message  was  brought  to  me,  and  it  was  some 
minutes  ere  I  realized  all  the  changes  which  had  taken  place. 
When  I  did  so  my  anger  against  my  faithless  wife  revived  in  all 
its  bitterness. 

As  I  entered  the  room  Zuleika,  who  was  resting  upon  her 
cushions,  hurried  forward  with  much  show  of  delight  to  greet  me. 
It  was  early  morning,  and  she  was  but  half  dressed.  Her  beauti- 
ful hair  hung  loose  upon  her  shoulders;  her  white  round  arms 
and  neck  were  bare,  and  her  pretty  feet  were  thrust  hastily  into 
her  slippers;  her  dark  eyes  looked  unusually  large  and  wistful 
by  reason  of  the  paleness  of  her  face.  Her  hands  trembled  as 
she  strove  to  gather  her  veil  around  her  and  fasten  her  robe,  but 
she  turned  to  me  with  a  smile  as  sweet  and  innocent  as  of  old,  and 
put  out  her  arms  caressingly  to  embrace  me. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  135 

But  I  drew  back  from  her  haughtily,  and  looked  at  her  coldly 
and  sternly,  even  while  my  heart  gave  a  wild  throb  of  anguish, 
and  I  would  have  given  all  the  earth  to  know  she  was  yet  true  to 
me,  and  that  all  the  terrible  past  was  but  an  awful  dream.  My 
voice  choked  and  trembled  as  I  said  to  her: 

"You  forget.  It  is  not  your  husband,  Ahrinziman,  who  has 
returned  to  you,  but  the  King  of  Persia.  What  did  you  desire 
of  him?" 

Zuleika's  arms  dropped  to  her  sides,  and  her  large  childlike 
eyes  filled  with  tears;  real  tears,  no  doubt,  as  she  replied : 

"Oh,  Ahrinziman!  I  thought  thou  wouldst  ever  be  the  same 
to  me.  I  thought  not  that  thou  wouldst  keep  thine  anger  thus. 
We  parted  in  anger  it  is  true,  but  I  thought  thou  wert  unreason- 
able in  thy  suspicions;  and  see,  I  have  wept  such  bitter  tears  since 
thou  didst  leave  me,  without  one  kiss,  and  now  thou  art  as  cold 
as  ice  to  me.  Can  it  be  that  thou  dost  love  me  no  more?  That 
thou  no  longer  carest  for  my  love  since  thou  art  become  the 
King?" 

She  looked  not  like  a  guilty  wife,  but  like  a  pleading  child,  as 
she  spoke  thus  to  me,  and  I  had  almost  begun  to  believe  in  her 
again,  I  so  longed  to  take  her  to  my  heart,  and  hear  her  say  she 
loved  me.  I  took  a  step  toward  her,  and  my  face  softened,  and 
mine  eyes  filled  with  tears.  And  then,  Oh  God !  if  I  have  sinned 
had  I  not  grave  provocation,  for  there  upon  the  carpet  between 
us  lay  the  King's  signet  ring — the  ring  he  had  given  Zuleika,  and 
which  she  had  worn  upon  her  slender  finger  at  the  fatal  moment 
when  I  had  seen  her  in  his  arms.  In  the  hurry  and  agitation  the 
ring  had  fallen  from  Zuleika's  finger,  which  was  much  too  small 
to  wear  it,  and  had  lain  unnoticed  upon  the  floor,  to  rise  up  like 
a  silent  accusing  witness  of  her  falseness  and  my  dishonor. 

I  started  as  though  an  adder  had  stung  me,  and  picked  up  the 
ring,  and  holding  it  out  to  her  said: 

"Oh,  Woman!  Fair  and  faithless!  Oh  smooth  faced  liar 
that  thou  art!  Thou  sayest  that  thou  wept  for  my  departure, 
when  it  was  the  lover  who  died  even  at  thy  feet  for  whom  those 
tears  were  shed.  If  thou  knowest  nothing  of  Selim  how  comes 
his  ring,  his  Signet  ring,  within  thy  sleeping  chamber?  The 
chamber  that  should  be  sacred  to  thee  and  me  alone.  Perjure 
thyself  no  more.  Seek  no  further  to  deceive  me,  for  behold,  I 
saw  thee  with  him,  and  I  saw  him  die,  even  as  thou  didst  see  him 
die,  at  thy  feet.  Oh,  most  false  of  women,  who  couldst  lie  in  my 


136  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

arms  and  whisper  words  of  love  into  mine  ears,  when  thou  hadst 
already  deceived  and  dishonored  me.  Thou  shalt  die.  Yea, 
of  a  truth  thou  shalt  die,  and  go  to  Hell  to  seek  for  thy  paramour." 

I  drew  my  dagger,  and  would  have  stabbed  her  to  the  heart, 
but  she  uttered  a  piercing  cry  and  fell  at  my  feet,  kissing  them 
like  a  slave,  and  grovelling  on  the  ground  in  abject  terror,  while 
she  pleaded  for  life — only  life.  Then  was  my  wrath  turned  to 
contempt,  and  I  spurned  her  from  me  with  my  foot,  and  drew 
my  sash  which  she  had  grasped  in  her  agony  of  fear,  away  from 
her  hands,  as  though  her  touch  denied  me. 

"Thy  life,  vile  harlot!  What  is  the  value  of  a  life  such  as 
thine?  Thy  life!  Is  it  so  dear  a  thing  to  thee?  Then  live  till 
thou  art  old  and  grey  and  withered,  and  all  those  charms  with 
which  thou  hast  beguiled  men's  hearts  are  turned  to  hideousness, 
and  thou  art  known  for  what  thou  art,  a  woman  without  virtue 
and  without  shame.  Live!  Yea,  thou  shalt  live,  but  thou 
shalt  enjoy  the  fate  thou  and  thy  betrayer  planned  for  me.  Thou 
shalt  go  to  a  prison,  not  to  the  palace  of  thy  dreams." 

I  turned  away.  I  could  not  trust  myself  to  look  on  her  again, 
as  she  lay  sobbing  on  the  ground  in  all  the  abandonment  of  her 
terror  and  despair,  lest  my  heart  should  soften  and  she  should 
beguile  my  soul  once  more. 

When  I  returned  to  my  apartments  I  found  Al  Zulicl  await- 
ing me,  with  the  news  that  Queen  Artemisia  had  fled  during  the 
night  from  the  Palace. 

"It  is  perhaps  as  well  that  she  hath  done  so,"  said  he,  "since 
we  could  not  have  retained  her  as  a  prisoner  without  raising 
around  us  a  hornet's  nest  of  her  powerful  kindred,  who  would 
be  only  too  glad  of  a  pretext  to  attack  us.  As  it  is  they  have  no 
excuse  for  doing  so,  and  so  soon  as  thou  art  securely  seated  upon 
the  throne  of  Persia  we  shall  have  ample  opportunity  of  avenging 
upon  Artemisia  our  mutual  wrongs,  and  of  humbling  even  to  the 
dust  this  proud  Queen.  First  grasp  with  a  firm  hand  the  regal 
power  and  all  else  will  follow." 

"Doubtless  it  is  even  as  thou  dost  say,  Al  Zulid,  but,  Oh! 
friend,  to  one  whose  wrongs  burn  the  heart  as  do  mine,  it  is  hard 
to  wait,  even  for  an  hour,  ere  I  may  satiate  my  thirst  for  vengeance. 
Upon  Artemisia  we  may  yet  avenge  ourselves,  but  can  aught 
restore  to  me  the  happiness  which  I  have  lost  for  ever?  Can 
anyone  give  back  to  me  my  wife,  in  her  innocence  and  purity?" 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  137 

"Art  thou  so  sure,  Ahrinziman,  that  she  was  indeed  innocent 
in  thought,  as  well  as  in  fact,  ere  Artemisia  and  her  son  tempted 
her  to  fall?  Methinks  that  virtue  must  be  of  a  poor  quality  which 
yields  to  the  first  assault,  and  that  love  but  a  base  counterfeit 
which  fades  before  the  glitter  of  a  King's  crown.  For  thee  it  is 
a  bitter  awakening  from  thine  illusion,  but  if  Zuleika  had  no  true 
love  for  thee  doth  it  matter  so  much  whose  hand  hath  drawn 
aside  the  veil  from  her  real  nature?  Think  not  that  I  fail  in 
sympathy  with  thee  because  I  speak  thus,  or  that  I  know  not  how 
sore  thy  heart  doth  feel,  how  empty  is  this  hour  of  thy  triumph, 
since  she  who  should  have  been  the  chief  sharer  of  its  pride  hath 
proved  so  faithless.  I  would  but  arouse  thee  from  dwelling  upon 
the  past,  which  thou  canst  not  alter,  and  bid  thee  turn  to  that 
future  which  is  yet  thine  own,  and  which  thou  canst  shape  to  com- 
pensate thee  at  least  in  part,  for  the  disappointment  of  thine 
affection.  Let  Persia  henceforth  be  thy  mistress,  and  the  pros- 
perity of  thy  people  thy  chief  thought." 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

ARTEMISIA  AND  AHMED 

In  sending  Zuleika  to  the  fortress,  in  which  I  intended  she 
should  pass  her  days,  I  allowed  her,  as  a  special  favour,  to  take 
with  her  the  faithful  negro  woman  who  had  nursed  her  as  an 
infant,  and  who  ever  showed  a  devotion  to  her  mistress  which 
was  worthy  of  a  more  grateful  object.  It  was  this  woman  who 
had  helped  Zuleika  to  remove  the  dead  body  of  King  Selim 
from  her  chamber,  and  who  possessed  more  of  Zuleika's  confi- 
dence than  any  other  person.  This  slave,  whose  name  was 
Bamba,  soon  contrived  to  ingratiate  herself  into  the  favor  of  the 
humbler  guards  at  the  fortress,  and  was  allowed  to  pass  in  and 
out  with  comparative  freedom,  a  circumstance  which  inspired 
Zuleika  with  a  plan  for  making  her  escape. 

To  one  like  my  discarded  wife  the  solitary  imprisonment  to 
which  she  was  condemned  was  almost  as  terrible  a  thing  as  death 
itself.  To  feel  her  youth  and  her  beauty  withering  away  between 


138  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

four  gloomy  walls;  to  have  no  companion  but  a  humble  slave; 
no  fine  dresses,  no  costly  jewels  to  wear,  no  glittering  baubles  to 
toy  with,  no  pretty  things  to  surround  her,  no  one  to  pay  her 
homage,  none  to  envy  or  to  flatter;  this  was  indeed  a  bitter  fate, 
and  the  feelings  of  the  vain,  selfish,  frivolous  beauty  towards  me 
were  full  of  the  most  intense  hate.  For  was  it  not  I  who  had  sent 
her  to  this  awful  prison?  My  scorn  and  contempt  when  I  had 
spurned  her  from  me  with  my  foot  had  galled  and  wounded  her 
vanity  as  my  love  had  never  been  able  to  touch  her  heart.  My 
bitter  words  rankled  in  her  mind,  though  my  words  of  fond 
endearment  had  made  but  little  impression.  The  dim  sense  she 
had  of  the  truth  in  my  angry  speech  stabbed  her  to  the  quick, 
disturbing  that  good  opinion  of  herself  which  she  had  ever 
cherished,  and  shaking  her  perfect  faith  in  her  own  amiability, 
her  own  beauty,  her  own  worth.  Anything  she  had  done  she 
had  fully  justified  to  herself  in  her  own  mind,  and  my  out- 
spoken words  she  regarded  as  a  deadly  insult  to  her  self-respect, 
and  an  outrage  upon  her  self-love  which  was  unpardonable.  I 
had  despised  her.  I  had  rejected  her  attempts  at  a  reconcilia- 
tion. I  had  heaped  contempt  and  injury  upon  her,  and  for  me 
she  felt  a  vehemence  of  petty  spite  which  for  the  first  time  in  her 
life  brought  her  to  the  verge  of  feeling  a  strong,  passionate  emotion. 
At  last  her  tepid,  selfish  nature  was  roused  into  some  throb  of 
hot  anger,  some  sense  of  the  strength  of  the  passions  which  can 
stir  the  human  heart,  and  next  to  her  desire  for  freedom  was  the 
desire  to  revenge  upon  me  what  she  was  pleased  to  call  her  wrongs. 

As  day  after  day  passed  on,  and  the  weary  weeks  changed 
into  months  as  weary,  she  paced  to  and  fro  in  her  prison  like  a 
pantheress  in  her  cage,  planning  how  to  get  free.  At  last  the 
ease  with  which  Bamba  could  enter  and  leave  the  fortress  sug- 
gested a  scheme  to  her  mind.  Gold  and  jewelry  she  had  none. 
Everything  of  value  which  might  have  served  to  bribe  her  guards 
to  help  her  had  been  taken  away.  Friends  she  had  none,  save 
this  one  poor  slave,  yet  in  her  devotion  Zuleika  possessed  a  treasure 
more  potent  than  any  gold,  more  valuable  than  any  jewels.  If 
Zuleika  sighed  for  freedom  Bamba  would  hesitate  at  nothing  to 
procure  it,  did  she  but  know  how  to  set  to  work,  and  when  Zuleika 
called  her  to  her  and  told  her  of  a  plan,  Bamba  acquiesced  at  once. 

"See  now,  good  Bamba,"  said  Zuleika,  "it  is  now  four  terrible 
months  that  we  have  endured  the  life  of  this  prison.  It  might 
well  be  four  years;  to  me  it  seems  an  eternity.  I  can  support 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN          139 

this  life  no  longer.     For  so  desperate  a  case  we  must  try  a  des- 
perate remedy. 

1  'As  for  tliee,  thou  must  find  means  to  reach  Queen  Artemisia. 
I  have  no  money  to  give  thee,  so  thou  must  even  beg  thy  way.  If 
thou  art  missed  I  shall  pretend  to  great  concern  for  thee;  I  shall 
show  great  anger,  and  say  thou,  even  thou,  hast  deserted  me  in 
my  captivity.  I  shall  ask  daily  for  thee,  and  weary  them  with  my 
importunities  for  news,  that  they  may  not  suspect  that  I  have 
sent  thee  from  me.  If  Artemisia  will  help,  let  her  give  thee  gold, 
for  a  golden  key  will  open  even  a  prison  door,  be  it  well  applied. 
And  surely  the  Queen  will  help  to  free  me  when  thou  dost  tell 
her  of  all  that  I  will  do,  all  that  I  can  tell." 

Bamba  prostrated  herself  at  Zuleika's  feet,  and  kissing  them, 
vowed  that  if  it  was  possible  for  one  poor  slave  to  move  the  heart 
of  Artemisia,  Zuleika  should  have  the  chance  of  freedom.  Then, 
after  a  few  more  directions  from  her  mistress,  set  forth  upon  her 
long  pilgrimage. 

With  infinite  labor  and  difficulty  the  poor  faithful  woman 
found  out  the  Queen,  who  had  taken  refuge  with  some  of  her 
kinsfolk,  and  who  had  been  joined  by  Prince  Ahmed,  with  whom 
she  made  common  cause  against  me. 

Very  eagerly  did  she  listen  to  the  tale  told  her  by  poor  Bamba, 
and  after  a  little  consideration  as  to  the  best  means  of  helping 
Zuleika,  she  sent  a  eunuch  of  her  court  with  a  large  amount  of 
money  to  accompany  Bamba,  and  help  her  to  effect  Zuleika's 
deliverence. 

Having  given  orders  that  they  should  bribe  liberally  those 
who  kept  the  prisoner,  she  also  sent  word  to  Prince  Ahmed,  who 
happened  to  be  at  the  time  absent  from  the  Palace,  bidding  him 
to  go  and  see  what  assistance  he  could  render,  and  how  swiftly  he 
could  bring  Zuleika  to  the  Queen. 

"Help  this  woman,"  said  she,  "by  all  means  in  thy  power,  for 
in  so  doing  thou  wilt  help  both  thyself  and  me.  Through  this 
woman's  aid  I  trust  to  be  avenged  upon  the  man  who  hath  robbed 
me  of  a  son,  and  thee  of  a  Kingdom." 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE  ESCAPE  OF  ZULEIKA 

It  was  a  hot,  sultry  day.  The  sun  poured  down  its  burning 
rays  upon  the  wide  stretch  of  sandy  plain  The  scorching  dust 
blistered  the  skin,  and  the  fierce  glare  from  the  white  sand  blinded 
the  eyes  of  the  weary  travellers  who  struggled  painfully  across  the 
arid  wilderness,  known  as  the  Great  Salt  Desert.  The  wretched 
camels  they  bestrode  seemed  scarce  able  to  drag  their  limbs 
another  pace,  while  the  terrible  thirst  which  consumed  alike  the 
poor  animals  and  their  riders,  was  rendered  the  more  unbearable 
by  the  sight  on  the  horizon  of  a  small  clump  of  date  trees,  which 
marked  the  presence  of  one  of  the  few  wells  of  that  almost  water- 
less region;  a  well  which  neither  camels  nor  travellers  seemed 
destined  ever  to  reach. 

Two  of  these  unfortunate  people  were  women,  the  third  was 
a  Nubian  slave,  one  of  those  useful  men  wrho  are  found  in  attend- 
ance upon  the  harems  of  the  East. 

As  one  of  the  wretched  camels  sank  in  a  dying  condition  upon 
the  hot  sand ,  the  woman  who  had  been  mounted  upon  it  extricated 
herself  from  the  poor  animal,  exclaiming  in  a  fretful  tone  to  the 
slave  who  hurried  to  her  assistance: 

"Trouble  not  about  me,  it  is  vain  to  hope  that  we  can  escape 
from  this  horrible  desert.  And  after  all  what  doth  it  signify  to 
any  where  the  bones  of  the  unfortunate  Zuleika  rest.  I  can 
struggle  no  more,  and  like  this  wretched  camel,  which  might 
surely  have  struggled  yet  a  little  further,  I  must  even  lay  me  down 
upon  the  sand  and  die." 

She  gave  an  impatient  kick  with  her  foot  to  the  luckless  camel, 
whose  failure  at  such  a  time  inspired  her,  not  with  pity  for  its 
sufferings,  but  annoyance  and  disappointment  for  herself;  and 
then,  with  more  vigor  than  is  usually  shown  by  one  at  the  point 
of  death,  she  walked  a  few  paces  away  and  threw  herself  upon 
the  ground.  The  other  woman,  who  was  no  other  than  Zuleika 's 
faithful  slave  Bamba,  had  by  this  time  also  dismounted,  and 
with  a  solicitude  akin  to  that  of  some  faithful  dog,  strove  to  shield 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  141 

her  mistress  from  the  fierce  rays  of  the  sun  with  her  own  body, 
while  the  man,  after  a  short  conference,  set  forth  alone  to  seek 
for  water  at  the  distant  well. 

Hours  passed  ere  the  man  returned,  and  during  that  weary 
time  Zuleika  sank  from  a  state  of  fretful  complaining  into  a  semi- 
unconsciousness  between  sleep  and  utter  exhaustion,  the  poor 
woman  beside  her  being  also  overcome. 

At  last  the  sun  sank,  and  the  short  twilight  gave  place  to  the 
darkness  and  coolness  of  night.  Then  the  stars  came  forth  and 
the  moon  rose,  and  by  its  light  the  dark  forms  of  several  vultures 
could  be  discerned  hovering  near  the  dying  women,  and  descend- 
ing upon  the  carcass  of  the  dead  camel,  making  night  more  terrible 
than  the  day  with  their  hoarse  cries,  and  filling  the  heart  of  the 
half  conscious  Zuleika  with  dread  and  horror. 

With  the  horrible  instinct  of  their  species  the  vultures  knew 
that  neither  of  the  women  was  yet  dead,  and  they  hovered  near, 
waiting  till  the  final  moment  of  dissolution  ere  they  attacked  their 
prey. 

Then,  as  the  night  wore  slowly  on,  there  came  another  sound 
than  the  vultures'  cries  to  break  the  stillness.  It  was  the  tramp- 
ling of  horses'  feet,  and  the  sound  of  men's  voices  shouting,  as 
they  sought  for  the  deserted  women.  The  Nubian  slave  had 
been  fortunate  in  his  quest,  and  had  found,  not  alone  the  water 
that  he  sought,  but  the  encampment  of  Prince  Ahmed  and  his 
troops. 

Zuleika  heard  the  voices  as  one  hears  in  a  dream.  She  heard 
them  approach  and  then  die  away,  yet  she  could  not  rouse  her- 
self enough  to  give  one  feeble  cry  in  answer.  She  knew  the  sounds 
betokened  life  and  hope,  yet  could  not  make  a  sign  to  guide  them 
to  her.  Again  and  yet  again  they  drew  near,  then  died  away  again 
till  at  last  the  black  cloud  of  vultures  hovering  above  the  dead 
camel  and  the  dying  women  caught  -the  eyes  of  the  seekers,  and 
with  a  loud  shout  the  horsemen  galloped  forward. 

Another  moment  and  Zuleika's  rigid  limbs  were  being  chafed 
by  friendly  hands,  and  water  was  poured  drop  bv  drop  between 
the  swollen  lips.  Her  veil  had  been  drawn  aside,  and  as  she 
revived  her  eyes  met  those  of  a  handsome  young  man,  none  other 
than  Prince  Ahmed  himself,  who  had  ridden  to  her  assistance 
when  he  heard  who  it  was  who  lay  dying  in  the  desert. 

With  tender  care  Zuleika  was  placed  upon  one  of  the  horses 
and  supported  by  the  Prince,  who  was  much  struck  by  her  exceed- 


142  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

ing  beauty,  and  as  she  had  now  revived  sufficiently  to  sit  up  when 
thus  supported,  Ahmed  lost  no  time  in  returning  with  her  to  his 
followers,  and  setting  forth  with  my  fugitive  wife. 

As  for  the  poor  faithful  Bamba,  she  was  past  all  aid,  and  expired 
even  while  her  rescuers  stood  over  her, 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

MY  ENEMIES 

In  one  of  the  upper  chambers  of  her  kinsman's  house  Arte- 
misia awaited  the  coming  of  Zuleika.  Since  she  had  sent  her  serv- 
ants forth  to  help  her  the  Queen  had  never  ceased  to  watch  for 
her  arrival,  even  long  before  it  was  possible  that  she  could  even 
have  escaped.  A  hundred  times  a  day  would  Artemisia  wander 
to  the  casement  and  look  forth  over  the  broad  stretch  of  country 
it  commanded,  to  see  if  there  was  any  sign  of  the  expected  caval- 
cade. Those  who  had  known  the  beautiful  Queen  in  the  days 
of  her  glory  found  it  difficult  to  recognize  her  now,  so  greatly  was 
she  changed.  Twenty  years  of  ordinary  life  would  not  so  have 
aged  her.  The  clear  pallor  of  her  skin  had  changed  to  a  dull 
leaden  hue.  The  handsome  aquiline  features  had  become  sharp 
and  prominent,  and  bore  the  semblance  of  a  bird  of  prey.  The 
cheeks,  once  so  round,  so  smooth,  were  sunken  and  wrinkled. 
The  white  forehead  furrowed.  The  perfect  figure  wasted  and 
angular,  while  the  eyes  wandered  restlessly  to  and  fro,  and  glit- 
tered with  a  wild  fire  that  was  almost  that  of  insanity.  The  long 
masses  of  dark, hair,  once  so  admired,  so  carefully  arranged,  so 
becomingly  dressed,  now  hung  loose  and  neglected  upon  her 
shoulders,  giving  an  added  wild  ness  to  her  appearance. 

Ever  and  anon  as  she  wandered  aimlessly  back  and  forward 
she  struck  her  bosom  with  her  clenched  hand,  uttering  a  low; 
strange  moati"  as:  of:  some  animal  in;  pain,  arid  calling  again  and 
again  upon  ,the  name  of  her  dead  son. 

sr?  :"Qh,  SeHmi     Selim!"  she  wailed,  "where  art  thou  now,  my 
son?    Hath  Paradise  opened  its  gates  to  thee,  and  left  me  behind 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  143 

to  drag  out  mine  existence  alone?  Can  it  be  that  Ahriman  hath 
taken  thee,  because  thou  wert  my  son,  and  I  have  sinned  so  that 
the  gates  of  Heaven  can  never  open  at  my  touch?  I  would  even 
that  thou  should  st  go  to  Hell  rather  than  to  Heaven,  yea  even 
though  it  were  to  the  sufferings  of  Hell,  for  then  thou  and  I  should 
meet.  Can  Paradise  have  a  place  for  thee?  Within  its  gates  I 
can  never  enter.  If  thou,  Oh  my  son,  mine  only  son,  dost  love  thy 
mother  even  as  she  loves  thee,  thou  wilt  welcome  the  dark  depths 
of  Hell  and  all  its  horrors  where  thou  would  st  dwell  with  me, 
rather  than  the  glorious  scenes  of  Paradise  where  we  would  be 
parted.  Oh  Selim,  child  of  my  soul!  Beloved  of  all  my  loveless 
years,  do  thou  return  to  me,  or  let  God  have  mercy  upon  me  and 
let  my  soul  go  forth  to  thee." 

She  sank  upon  the  floor  with  a  long  wailing  cry  of  anguish, 
and  rocked  herself  backwards  and  forwards  in  her  despair, 
calling  now  in  softest  caressing  tones  and  anon  with  frantic  wild- 
ness  upon  the  lost  Selim. 

Suddenly  she  was  aroused  from  her  solitary  grief  by  the  sound 
of  bustle  and  excitement  in  the  court  yard  below.  There  was  the 
loud  trampling  of  horses,  and  the  sound  of  men's  voices,  and  as 
she  sprang  up  and  hurried  to  the  window  she  beheld  Prince 
Ahmed  assisting  a  closely  veiled  woman  to  alight  from  her  horse ,,. 
and  in  the  graceful  veiled  figure  she  had  no  difficulty  in  recogniz- 
ing Zuleika. 

With  an  exclamation  of  savage  joy  Artemisia  hurried  from 
the  room,  and  meeting  the  party  on  their  way  to  her,  they  all 
returned  together  to  the  room,  the  once  stately  Queen  laying  aside 
all  attempts  at  Royal  state  in  her  eager  haste  and  fierce  longing 
to  know  what  Zuleika  could  tell  her. 

To  Artemisia  she  therefore  said  that  she  felt  sure  I  had  caused 
Selim  to  be  slain,  even  if  I  had  not,  with  my  own  hands,  killed 
him,  for  I  had  boasted  to  her  that  I  had  seen  him  die. 

"Who,"  cried  Zuleika,"  knows  better  than  the  unhappy  Zuleika 
what  fearful  spells  Ahrinziman  can  cast  over  those  he  would; 
destroy,  what  dread  powers  he  can  call  upon  to  aid  him  in  his; 
wicked  designs.  Have  I  not,  alas!  known  for  years  how  terrible 
were  the  things  he  could  do,  yet  was  my  tongue  always  tied,  and 
myself  constrained  by  the  influence  he  had  over  me.  I  thank 
God  that  the  spell  is  broken  at  last,  and  that  I  can  speak  freely 
to  your  Highness,  and  say  that  the  hand  which  slew  thy  son  was 
the  hand  of  Ahrinziman," 


144  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

Artemisia  gave  a  shrill  laugh  of  derision  as  she  heard  the  con- 
clusion of  Zuleika 's  speech,  and  her  voice  was  fierce  with  anger 
as  she  replied : 

"If  thou  hast  no  more  than  that  to  tell  me  thou  needst  not 
have  come  so  far,  thou  mightest  have  lain  and  rotted  in  thy  prison 
ere  I  would  have  sent  help  to  thee.  For  long  I  have  known 
that  Ahrinziman  killed  my  son  with  his  foul  spells.  In  the  hour 
Selim  died  I  knew  it,  and  I  live  now  only  that  I  may  bring  this 
murderer  to  a  fate  as  tragic,  and  an  end  more  lingering  and 
painful,  than  was  the  end  of  my  poor  son.  If  thou  canst  tell  me 
what  were  the  means  whereby  this  husband  who  hath  cast  thee 
off,  thou  paltry  schemer,  used  to  procure  his  ends,  speak  on,  but 
if  not,  if  thou  hast  no  more  to  tell  me  than  I  know  already,  then, 
by  the  Heavens  above  us,  thou  shalt  find  thou  hast  but  changed 
one  prison  for  another,  one  condition  of  sorrow  for  one  yet  more 
hopeless.  Trifle  not  with  me.  Thou  didst  lead  my  son  unto 
his  death.  But  for  thee  and  thy  hateful  charms  he  had  been 
alive  now  to  bless  my  life,  not  dead  and  cold  and  gone  to  leave 
me  in  despair." 

Her  voice  shook,  and  she  ended  her  angry  speech  in  a  wild 
burst  of  sorrow  for  her  son,  while  Ahmed  and  Zuleika,  scarce 
knowing  how  to  answer  her,  stood  silently  by.  The  Queen's 
mood  changed,  and  she  turned  again  to  Zuleika  with  mock 
courtesy,  as  she  said: 

"Come  now,  tell  me  all  thy  news,  rehearse  to  me  the  story  of 
thy  life  with  this  most  wonderful  Ahrinziman.  Or  stay,  I  should 
perhaps  rather  tell  thee  the  latest  news.  I  forgot  that  thou  in  thy 
captivity  canst  have  heard  but  little  of  his  fine  doings.  It  must 
surely  give  thee  pleasure  to  know  that  this  man,  to  whom  thou 
wert  so  true,  so  exemplary  a  wife,  hath  risen  to  the  loftiest  height 
of  power  and  popularity  since  he  cast  thee  off.  All  men  praise 
him:  all  say  that  since  the  days  of  Darius  the  Great  there  hath 
not  arisen  a  King  so  fit  to  add  to  the  glories  of  Persia  and  restore 
to  her  that  position  among  nations  which  was  slipping  from  her. 
They  praise  his  military  talents,  his  dauntless  courage,  his  tact 
and  kingly  address.  They  praise  his  person,  and  say  how  hand- 
some is  this  man,  how  gracious,  how  full  of  resource,  how  capable 
of  governing  how  strong  of  will,  yet  how  generous  of  purpose. 
Do  I  not  speak  truly,  Ahmed?  Is  it  not  thus  that  men  speak  of 
the  man  who  hath  thrust  thee  aside,  and  whom  thou  in  thy  turn 
wouldst  pull  down  from  his  high  estate?  Doth  it  not  please  thee 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  145 

to  think  he  is  so  popular  that  thine  own  chance  beside  his  is  but 
small?  Thou  art  alike  the  illegitimate  offspring  of  El  Jazid,  but 
unlike  thee,  Ahrinziman  was  the  chosen  son,  the  well  beloved 
of  my  once  husband,  while  thou  wert  set  aside.  Surely  it  must 
•  give  thee  pleasure  to  know  it  was  for  no  unworthy  object?  And 
for  thee,  Zuleika,  most  beautiful,  most  graceful  of  courtesans, 
thou  must  feel  pleasure  to  know  that  Ahrinziman  hath  taken  unto 
himself  six  of  the  most  beautiful  maidens  in  all  Persia,  to  fill  that 
place  in  his  heart  which  thou  didst  hold  alone?  When  he  wearies 
of  the  charms  of  one  he  can  try  the  fascinations  of  another,  whereas 
thou  hadst  charms  enough  to  hold  his  fancy  by  thine  own  beauty 
alone.  Thou  mightest  have  been  as  great  a  Queen  as  the  most 
royally  born,  had  it  not  been  that  thou  didst  bestow  thy  valuable 
affections  upon  my  son — my  murdered  son.  Oh,  thou  fool! 
Thou  vain  fool !  Thou  wretched  trifler  with  men's  hearts,"  said 
the  Queen,  lapsing  again  into  her  hot  anger,  " haste  thee  and  tell 
me  all  thou  hast  to  tell,  for  the  same  air  cannot  be  breathed  by 
thee  and  me,  thy  presence  stifles  me,  and  thou  hadst  best  be 
swiftly  gone." 

Trembling  with  apprehension,  yet  watching  anxiously  the 
face  of  Ahmed  to  know  what  help  she  might  expect  from  him, 
Zuleika  told  of  my  life  with  Jelal-ud-din  so  far  as  she  knew  it. 
What  she  had  to  say  sounded  vague  and  trifling  before  such 
fierce  impatient  questioning  as  Artemisia  subjected  her  to,  and 
she  felt  that  her  sole  hope  must  now  be  in  the  good  offices  of 
Prince  Ahmed  on  her  behalf,  and  after  a  few  moments  of  terrible 
suspense  Zuleika  burst  into  a  passion  of  tears,  and  was  overcome 
by  faintness,  half  real  and  half  assumed,  as  an  escape  from  further 
questioning,  while  she  petitioned  to  be  allowed  a  few  hours  in 
which  to  recover  from  her  fatigue  and  collect  her  thoughts. 

The  angry  Queen  therefore  called  one  of  her  women  and  bade 
her  conduct  Zuleika  to  a  chamber  where  she  could  rest  for  a 
little.  As  she  was  about  to  leave  the  presence  of  Artemisia 
Zuleika  contrived  to  make  a  sign  to  the  Prince  that  she  desired 
to  speak  with  him,  and  as  he  gave  her  a  gesture  of  acquiescence  in 
return,  Zuleika  departed  a  little  reassured. 

Zuleika  had  been  resting  for  scarcely  half  an  hour  when  Prince 
Ahmed  came  to  visit  her,  and  in  her  then  state  of  suspense  and 
anxiety  it  was  almost  a  relief  that  he  came  so  soon. 

Yet  Zuleika  was  at  heart  afraid  of  Ahmed.     She  felt  instinct- 


146  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

ively  that  the  love  she  had  inspired  in  the  heart  of  this  man  was 
a  very  different  feeling  from  that  with  which  the  poor  weak  minded 
King  Selim  had  regarded  her,  or  the  chivalric  devotion  which  had 
made  her  almost  a  sacred  being  in  my  eyes.  Ahmed  was  a  man 
of  coarse,  determined  character,  and  Zuleika  felt  only  too  con- 
scious of  her  own  helpless,  forlorn  position.  She  struggled  hard 
however  to  hide  her  apprehensions,  and  to  maintain  her  own 
dignity  as  long  as  possible,  that  she  might  make  better  terms  for 
herself. 

As  Ahmed  entered  Zuleika  rose  to  receive  him,  and  prostrat- 
ing herself  at  his  feet  said: 

"I  sought  an  interview  with  thee,  Oh  Prince,  because  in  thy 
help  and  in  thy  generosity  must  the  sole  hope  of  the  unhappy 
Zuleika  be.  The  Queen,  who  I  thought  would  befriend,  seems 
like  unto  one  distraught;  the  death  of  her  son  would  seem  to  have 
affected  her  brain,  since  she  raves  when  she  speaks  upon  that 
subject,  and  says  things  which  are  but  the  offspring  of  her  own 
wild  suspicion." 

Zuleika 's  fine  eyes  filled  with  real  tears  as  she  thought  on  her 
hard  fate,  and  she  raised  them  to  Ahmed's  face  with  the  timid, 
suppliant  look  of  a  frightened  child.  But  Ahmed  was  not  one 
to  be  so  easily  moved,  and  he  replied  coolly: 

"  Distress  not  thyself  to  explain  these  things  to  me,  fair 
Zuleika.  Wert  thou  doubly  guilty  thou  hast  charms  enough  to 
cover  all  thy  failings!  I  do  indeed  perceive  that  thou  canst  ex- 
pect no  secure  asylum  from  the  Queen,  but  hi  my  seraglio  thou 
wilt  be  safe  even  from  her  anger,  and  there  thou  canst  forget 
the  past." 

"Thou  dost  do  me  great  honor,  Oh  Prince!  and  I  am  not 
ungrateful  unto  thee,  but  I  would  fain  ask  whether  it  is  an  honor- 
able asylum  that  thou  dost  offer  me?  Mine  honor  is  all  that  hath 
been  left  to  me  *  wonder  not  then  that  I  would  still  guard  it  even 
with  thee." 

Ahmed  frowned,  as  he  replied  hastily:  "What  would st  thou 
have?  Thy  position  shall  be  as  honorable  as  any  of  my  other 
women,  thy  jewels  as  fine,  thy  robes  as.  costly,  thy  comforts  as  well 
studied.  But  if  thou  dost  ask  if  I  will  make  thee  a  Queen,  even 
as  report  sayeth  Selim  would  have  done,  thou  art  somewhat  too 
ambitious!  Thou  dost  forget  that  I  am  Prince  Ahmed,  the  King 
Ahmed  it  should  be  by  right,  and  I  wed  but  the  daughter  of  a 
King.  Thou  canst  find  an  asylum  with  me,  but  it  is  I,  not  thou, 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  147 

who  shall  dictate  the  terms.     In  thy  present  position  it  seems  to 
me,  most  beautiful  Zuleika,  thou  hast  but  scant  choice." 

"And  thou,  Prince  Ahmed,  hast  but  scant  generosity,  or  thou 
wouldst  not  thus  remind  me  of  it,"  cried  the  mortified  Zuleika, 
almost  weeping. 

"Nay,  then,"  replied  Ahmed,  "dry  those  tears.  A  man  loves 
not  to  see  a  woman's  tears,  and  if  thou  dost  accommodate  thyself 
to  circumstances  thou  mayest  have  other  things  wherein  thou 
canst  indulge  thine  ambition.  Thou  canst  tell  me  of  this  Ahrin- 
ziman,  and  of  his  life  ere  he  met  the  magician.  It  seemed  to  me 
that  thou  didst  keep  something  from  the  Queen;  reveal  it  now  to 
me,  and  Ahmed  will  not  forget  to  reward  thee  well.  Smile  upon 
me  once  more,  Zuleika,  for  though  I  will  make  no  promises  to 
thee,  I  vow  thou  shalt  have  no  reason  to  regret  trusting  thyself 
into  my  hands." 

Then  falteringly  and  with  much  hesitation  Zuleika  told  him. 
all  she  knew,  all  she  suspected,  and  suggested  how  her  informa- 
tion might  be  used  for. Prince  Ahmed's  advantage. 

The  Prince  regarded  her  with  much  admiration.  "Verily," 
said  he,  "thou  art  a  clever  woman,  and  a  discreet  one.  It  is 
well  thou  didst  not  tell  this  to  Artemisia,  for  she  would  have  pub- 
lished it  to  all  the  world  before  the  right  time.  She  is  not  to  be 
trusted  now,  and  thou  and  I  must  keep  our  own  counsel.  I  will 
seek  out  this  robber  tribe,  and  doubtless  we  shall  have  the  means 
ere  long  of  showing  this  Ahrinziman  to  the  world  as  an  impostor. 
Not  that  either  thou  or  I  believe  him  to  be  one,  he  hath  too  strong 
a  likeness  unto  my  father  for  that,  and  Al  Zulid  is  not  one  to  be 
deceived;  but  it  will  serve  our  purpose  to  affect  to  believe  it,  and 
if  we  kill  Ahrinziman  men  can  believe  he  was  El  Jazid's  son  or 
not,  as  they  choose.  Our  purpose  will  have  been  gained.  Of  a 
truth  thou  art  clever  to  think  of  this,  and  to  keep  it  to  thyself  for 
so  long;  thy  beauty  is  not  the  most  dangerous  of  thy  many  charms 
after  all."  And  Ahmed  advanced  towards  Zuleika  with  a  look 
of  admiration  so  bold,  so  insolent,  that  she  burst  into  a  passion 
of  angry  tears,  for  she  felt  that  the  cup  of  her  degradation  was 
full  at  last. 


148  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


CHAPTER  XXXIi 

ABUBATHA'S  WARNING 

It  was  night,  and  in  my  Palace  of  Parsagherd  I  rested  alone 
within  my  private  chamber.  I  had  come  that  day  from  Teheran, 
expecting  to  meet  Al  Zulid,  but  he  was  delayed  upon  his 
journey,  and  I  was  alone  in  the  Palace,  save  for  the  presence 
of  my  attendant  soldiers  and  my  slaves. 

Six  months  had  I  reigned,  and  in  the  pursuit  of  ambition  I  had 
found  a  certain  measure  of  solace  for  my  wounded  love.  Arte- 
misia had  spoken  truly  when  she  had  described  my  life  and  pros- 
pects to  Zuleika,  but  none  save  myself  knew  how  much  my  heart 
still  longed  to  welcome  back  my  faithless  wife,  nor  how  little  the 
charms  of  other  women  had  been  able  to  banish  the  memory  of 
my  hours  with  her.  I  had  not  yet  heard  of  her  escape,  for  the 
fortress  to  which  I  had  sent  her  was  in  a  remote  corner  of  Persia, 
and  those  who  had  guarded  her  were  not  too  eager  to  send  me 
word  of  her  flight.  The  rich  bribe  given  by  Artemisia  caused  her 
captors  to  regard  with  some  indifference  my  wrath,  since  it  would 
enable  the  chief  offenders  to  quit  Persia  ere  I  could  seek  vengeance 
upon  them  for  their  lack  of  trust. 

As  I  reposed  upon  my  couch  I  watched  the  stars  peep  out  one 
by  one  and  glitter  in  the  dark  canopy  of  the  night  sky,  and  my 
thoughts  wandered  back  to  the  days  of  my  boyhood,  when  the 
stars  had  seemed  to  me  almost  as  companions,  and  when  I  had 
watched  for  that  other  star  whose  coming  betokened  the  presence 
of  my  White  Angel.  Ah !  how  far  away  now  it  seemed,  those  days 
of  innocence  and  trust.  How  wide  the  gulf  between  myself  and 
then.  How  great  had  been  my  fall  from  the  pure  aspirations  of 
those  days  to  the  sordid  ambitions  which  now  filled  my  thoughts. 
Power  and  Pleasure  had  become  my  Gods;  self-gratification  my 
idol.  If  I  sought  to  do  my  best  for  my  country  and  my  people, 
it  was  that  I  might  reap  the  rewards  of  greatness  through  the 
gratitude  of  my  people.  The  pure  unselfish  patriotism  which 
animated  Ben  Al  Zulid,  and  made  him  indifferent  to  his  personal 
interests,  superior  to  all  temptations  to  enrich  or  aggrandise 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  149 

himself,  was  a  different  feeling  to  that  which  inspired  me.  In 
all  my  schemes,  in  all  my  efforts,  the  animating,  dominating  feel- 
ing was  self-interest  and  personal  ambition.  My  people  should 
be  great,  my  country  prosperous,  because  it  was  my  country,  and 
its  glory  reflected  its  lustre  upon  my  own  life.  What  had  been 
done  by  the  greatest  Rulers  should  be  done  by  me,  and  if  possible 
I  would  do  more,  for  I  would  fain  have  been  the  greatest  of  all 
Rulers  myself.  Nothing  could  daunt  me,  no  difficulties  deter, 
because  the  greater  the  difficulties  the  greater  the  glory  of  over- 
coming them.  To  my  ambitious  thoughts  the  conquest  of  other 
nations  was  but  a  matter  of  time  and  determination,  and  if,  as  I 
often  imagined,  the  Dark  Angel  whom  I  had  seen  was  in  truth 
helping  me  to  the  dominion  he  had  promised,  it  only  required 
that  I  should  follow  where  events  seemed  to  open  the  path  before 
my  feet,  in  order  that  I  might  avail  myself  of  his  help,  in  a  sphere 
where  the  Dark  Angel  of  the  Blood  Red  Star  reigned  as  a  mighty 
King. 

Now  and  again  my  dreams  of  glory  would  be  broken  by  the 
vision  of  Selim,  whom  I,  in  intent  if  not  in  act,  had  murdereri; 
and  like  a  dim  wraith,  no  more  material  than  are  the  clouds  that 
float  across  the  sky,  the  face  and  form  of  my  victim  would  hover 
near,  distorted  and  disfigured  by  the  agonies  of  his  violent  death, 
even  as  I  had  seen  the  wraith  of  Jelal-ud-din  on  the  day  when  I 
had  visited  his  deserted  house,  and  seen  my  vision  of  Zuleika  and 
Selim  in  the  magic  mirror.  The  forms  of  both  these  haunting 
shapes  bore  the  impress  of  the  same  violent  death,  and  I  had  little 
doubt  were  due  to  the  same  unseen  agency.  Not  often,  however, 
did  these  ghosts  of  my  past  obtrude  themselves  upon  me,  and  I 
was  so  much  absorbed  in  the  active  life  of  material  existence  that 
I  had  but  little  time  to  think  of  my  occult  studies. 

To-night,  however,  the  spirit  world  seemed  strangely  near  to 
me  once  more.  The  gates  so  long  closed  were  again  ajar.  My 
senses  were  so  abnormally  acute  that  the  distant  sounds  in  the 
Palace  fell  with  startling  distinctness  upon  my  ears,  and  the  far 
off  hooting  of  an  owl  sounded  like  the  warning  note  of  a  feathered 
sentinel.  Very  gradually  and  imperceptibly  I  sank  into  a  state 
of  slumber,  and  then  the  unconsciousness  of  sleep  gave  place  unto 
a  vision. 

Methought  I  walked  within  a  fair  garden,  wherein  bloomed 
the  fairest  flowers  of  earth;  and  away  beyond  the  garden  I  could 
behold  the  blue  misty  outlines  of  a  lofty  range  of  hills.  A  clear 


150  THE  STORY  OK  AHRINZIMAN 

stream  flowed  at  my  feet,  and  soft  trees  waved  their  green  branches 
above  my  head.  Then,  even  as  I  gazed  upon  this  fair  scene,  dark 
storm  clouds  rose  and  swept  over  the  sun-lit  garden,  enveloping 
all  in  their  darkness.  The  clear  crystal  stream  changed  into  a 
rushing,  roaring  muddy  river,  whose  dark  waters  rose  and  rose 
till  they  had  engulfed  me,  and  I  was  swept  from  the  fair  garden 
and  borne  downwards  on  the  rushing,  roaring  stream's  thick, 
muddy  water.  I  was  swept  on  and  on.  It  seemed  to  me  I 
travelled  on  that  dark  flood  for  an  immense  time,  yet  it  could 
only  have  been  a  few  moments  of  earthly  time.  At  last  I  found 
myself  being  borne  past  some  mighty  rocks  which  reared  their 
dark  heads  above  the  turbulent  stream,  and  in  my  fear  and  anguish 
I  grasped  hold  of  one  great  rock  as  I  was  swept  past.  With  the 
grasp  of  despair  I  held  on  to  it,  although  the  dark  waters  well  nigh 
swept  me  away,  and  at  last  a  tiny  star  appeared  from  the  black- 
ness above  me,  and  as  the  star  flickered  o'er  my  head,  a  voice  said: 
"Hold  on  and  raise  thyself,  for  thine  own  hand  must  raise  thee  up, 
even  as  thine  own  hand  hath  caused  thy  fall." 

With  frantic  haste  I  struggled  to  arise  and  to  free  myself  from 
the  clinging  weeds,  the  long  rope-like  grass  and  reeds  which  grew 
in  that  sullen  stream  and  held  me  like  ropes  of  iron.  And  at  last 
I  seemed  to  rise  and  shake  myself  free,  till  one  limb  after  another 
was  released,  and  I  stood  upon  the  hard,  sharp  surface  of  the  rock 
in  safety. 

Then  did  I  behold  a  figure  beside  me  wrapped  in  a  mantle 
of  silver  grey  that  sparkled  as  with  many  glittering  drops  of  dew, 
which  like  tiny  stars  of  light  bespangled  the  spirit's  robes.  As  I 
looked,  the  veil  which  had  hid  the  face  was  drawn  aside,  and  I 
beheld  the  features  of  my  long  lost  friend,  the  dear  companion  of 
my  boyhood,  Abubatha. 

His  face  shone  with  a  radiance  like  the  halo  around  a  saint; 
his  smile  was  sad  and  tender,  and  his  voice  low  and  musical  as  a 
silver  bell,  as  he  spoke  these  words  to  me: 

"Oh,  Ahrinziman,  my  beloved  friend!  Dear  youth  whom  I 
loved  as  a  son,  I  pray  thee  think  of  holier  things  than  the  vain 
pleasures  of  the  earth.  Turn  to  nobler  thoughts  than  the  thought 
of  selfish  ambition.  Nourish  not  this  longing  for  revenge,  for 
thou  art  more  than  avenged  already,  did  thou  but  know  it,  and 
the  sordid  thirst  to  inflict  suffering  upon  those  who  wrong  thee  is 
as  these  dark  weeds  which  imprisoned  thy  limbs;  and  evil 
thoughts  are  like  yon  rushing  stream  that  bears  men  to  destruc- 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  151 

tion.  None  can  enslave  thee  but  thyself.  None  can  have  domin- 
ion over  thy  soul  unless  thou  thyself  give  them  the  power.  Assert 
that  sovereignty  over  thyself  which  is  the  divine  prerogative  of  all 
mankind,  and  yield  not  thyself  a  subject  to  any,  be  it  to  the  dark 
Angels  or  to  thine  own  evil  passions.  Awake  my  son! 
Arouse  thyself,  for  enemies  draw  near  thee!  Yet  is  the  enemy 
thou  shouldst  dread  most  of  all  thine  own  undisciplined  passion- 
ate heart." 

I  tried  to  rush  forward  and  touch  the  figure  as  he  ceased  to 
speak,  but  he  faded  and  was  gone  ere  I  could  move,  and  I  awoke 
with  a  shock  to  find  myself  standing  with  outstretched  arms  in  the 
middle  of  my  room. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

THE  SECRET   PASSAGE 

When  I  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Persia  I  had  caused  to  be 
closed  up  the  wing  of  the  Palace  at  Parsagherd  in  which  my  mother 
and  Selim  had  alike  met  their  deaths;  and  in  order  that  none 
might  use  again  the  ill  omened  secret  passage  I  caused  the  door 
opening  into  the  late  King's  rooms  to  be  built  up.  The  other 
door  I  left  untouched,  since  no  one  was  likely  to  use  it,  as  the 
fatal  chamber  into  which  it  opened,  being  thought  to  be  haunted, 
was  avoided  by  all. 

On  this  night,  however,  this  deserted  wing  of  the  Palace  was 
no  longer  in  solitary  darkness.  Access  to  it  from  outside  had 
been  obtained  through  a  private  entrance  known  only  to  Arte- 
misia, and  now  Ahmed,  Artemisia,  Zuleika  and  a  slave  in  attend- 
ance upon  Ahmed,  glided  softly  and  swiftly  through  the  silent 
and  neglected  rooms. 

Ahmed  had  lost  no  time  in  following  out  the  idea  suggested 
by  Zuleika.  He  had  hunted  up  my  history  with  the  robber  tribe. 
He  had  seen  Dilferib  and  the  artful  Hadji,  whom  he  found  ready 
to  assist  him  in  his  plans. 

The  same  night  Ahmed  had  arranged  that  emissaries  of  his 
own  should  be  scattered  through  all  the  principal  towns  in  Persia.,' 


I52  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

to  circulate  simultaneously  a  garbled  and  strange  account  of  my 
history  and  doings,  showing  how  I  was  the  vilest  of  men. 

This,  and  much  more,  did  Ahmed  cause  to  be  circulated  con- 
cerning me,  but  so  artful  was  he  that  he  did  not  circulate  these 
tales  until  he  had  so  carefully  laid  his  plans  to  compass  my  death 
that  there  was  little  fear  that  I  would  ever  have  the  chance  of 
explaining  my  actions  or  contradicting  these  wild  stories,  so  near 
the  truth  yet  so  false  in  reality. 

Ahmed  was  accompanied  by  a  slave,  a  strange  deaf  and  dumb 
creature,  with  whom  he  could  communicate  by  signs  so  perfectly 
that  it  was  seldom  the  deaf  mute  failed  to  carry  out  all  Ahmed's 
instructions  correctly,  while  his  affliction  made  it  impossible  for 
him  to  betray  easily  his  master's  secrets. 

To-night  Ahmed  had  entered  the  Palace  by  this  secret  way, 
in  order  that  he  and  the  slave  might  open  from  the  inside  one  of 
the  smaller  gates  to  admit  a  large  body  of  his  soldiers,  who,  fully 
armed  and  prepared  for  a  fierce  resistance,  awaited  his  summons. 
In  the  East  treachery  of  every  kind  is  the  great  evil  Rulers  and 
ruled  alike  have  most  to  fear,  and  treachery  and  bribery  had  both 
been  at  work  to  render  certain  soldiers  of  my  own  guard  ready 
to  make  but  a  mere  feint  of  resistance  when  this  small  gate  should 
be  attacked.  A  larger  body  of  Ahmed's  troops  were  to  attack 
the  principal  entrance  the  moment  that  a  given  signal  should 
announce  to  them  that  their  comrades  had  gained  an  en- 
trance to  the  Palace,  and  it  was  calculated  that  when  thus 
surprised  and  assailed  from  within  and  without  my  own 
guards  would  have  but  a  poor  chance  of  successful  resistance, 
while  I  myself  woud  be  assassinated  ere  I  had  well  realized  my 
danger. 

As  Ahmed  and  his  dumb  slave  hurried  onward,  followed  by 
the  Queen  and  Zuleika,  this  conversation  took  place  in  dumb 
show:  Ahmed,  who  carried  a  tiny  lamp  to  see  the  way,  making 
signs  to  his  peculiar  confidant  which  would  not  be  understood  by 
the  others: 

."Dost  thou  see  the  Queen,  slave?  Mark  well  that  to-night 
thou  shalt  give  her  a"  potion  so  strong  that  she  shall  wake  no  more 
from  her  sleep.  To  one  so  crazed  as  she,  methinks  it  were  a 
kindness  to  help  her  to  find  that  death  which  would  seem  to  have 
forgotten  her." 

Then  to  himself  Ahmed  added,  "I  would  not  have  a  hell-cat 
[like  Artemisia  about  my  court  for  all  the  wealth  and  glory  of 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN          153 

Persia.  I  would  never  know  when  she  might  take  a  fancy  to 
stick  her  claws  into  me." 

In  order  to  reach  the  wing  of  the  Palace  where  I  dwelt  it  was 
necessary  to  pass  through  the  rooms  which  Selim  had  assigned 
to  me  when  I  was  in  his  service,  and  as  they  approached  the  one 
in  which  Zuleika  had  slept,  and  Selim  died,  she  drew  back  and 
hesitated  to  enter  it.  A  shudder  of  fear  passed  over  her,  for  to 
her  eyes  it  appeared  for  a  moment  as  though  the  contorted  body 
of  the  murdered  man  yet  lay  upon  the  floor,  a  dread  thing  of  fear 
she  could  not  pass.  Moreover  she  had  begun  to  repent  of  her 
intention  to  be  present  to  see  me  die.  She  had  thought  it  would 
be  sweet  to  her  to  be  thus  avenged  upon  me  for  my  scorn  of  her. 
But  now  that  the  critical  moment  was  so  near,  she  drew  back, 
and  felt  that  she  could  not  go  on.  She  could  not  look  upon  death 
again.  The  memory  of  Selim  as  he  lay  dead  at  her  feet  was  too 
horrible  to  her.  She  stopped,  as  Ahmed  and  his  dumb  slave 
passed  out  at  the  upper  doorway,  leaving  her  alone  with  Arte- 
misia in  that  fatal  room.  Ahmed  was  too  absorbed  in  his  own 
purpose,  and  the  Palace  was  too  dark,  for  him  to  notice  whether 
the  two  women  were  following  him  closely  or  not,  and  he  passed 
on  without  missing  them. 

Zuleika's  impulse  was  to  turn  and  fly  by  the  way  they  had 
entered,  but  ere  she  could  do  so  Artemisia  laid  her  hand  upon 
Zuleika's  arm,  and  said  in  a  low  tone  of  great  melancholy,  yet 
with  more  sanity  than  she  had  shown  of  late: 

"Doth  it  fill  thee  with  sorrow,  even  as  it  does  me,  to  enter  this 
Palace  again,  to  picture  to  thyself  the  happy  hours  as  well  as  those 
of  sadness  which  we  have  known  within  its  walls?  I  could  almost 
say  the  ghost  of  my  dead  son  stood  near  us  now,  and  that  I  had 
but  to  stretch  out  my  hands  to  touch  him.  Doth  it  seem  the  same 
tojhee?" 

Zuleika  shuddered  and  drew  back  from  the  Queen,  as  she 
glanced  around  apprehensively. 

"  Oh  no !  No !  There  is  surely  no  one  here  but  thee  and  me. 
It  is  too  horrible  to  think  that  the  dead  might  come  to  us.  Let 
us  away  from  this  dreadful  room.  I  cannot  go  on.  I  cannot 
see  Ahrinziman  die !  I  cannot  think  of  death,  and  a  violent  death, 
again." 

At  the  mention  of  my  name  Artemisia's  mood  changed  to  one 
of  passionate  frenzy,  and  in  a  fierce  eager  whisper  she  hissed  into 
Zuleika's  ear,  while  she  grasped  her  arm  like  a  vice: 


154  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

"Thou  dost  fear  to  see  Ahrinziman  die,  thou  paltry,  weak- 
minded  fool?  Thou  dost  shudder  at  the  thought  of  death  within 
these  walls  wherein  died  my  son?  I  tell  thee  the  whole  atmos- 
phere is  full  of  death.  It  taints  the  air  we  breathe,  as  though 
this  Palace  were  a  charnel  house.  The  ghosts  of  those  who  died 
within  this  room  are  with  us  now,  and  they  mock  and  point  at  us 
with  their  skeleton  fingers,  and  gibe  at  us  with  their  dumb  lips. 
Thou  art  in  the  presence  of  death  now.  Its  black  mantle  falls 
like  a  shadow  around  thee,  as  though  it  would  enwrap  thee  in  its 
sable  folds,  and  yet  thou  sayest  thou  dost  not  want  to  see  Ahrin- 
ziman die?  Oh  Powers  of  Hell !  And  thou !  Thou  art  afraid  ! " 
she  cried,  her  madness  growing  into  a  fit  of  frenzy;  then  changing 
to  a  chuckle  of  laughter,  she  suddenly  released  Zuleika's  arm. 
"Thou  art  afraid!  Afraid!  If  so,  go!  Go!  See  what  a  fine 
means  of  escape  there  is  for  thee!  Far  better  than  returning 
alone  through  yon  dark  rooms,  wherein  of  a  surety  thou  wilt  die 
of  fright  ere  thou  dost  reach  the  gates.  See,  my  sweet  Zuleika, 
my  timid,  gentle  fawn,  enter  thou  at  this  small  door,  and  it  will 
take  thee  straight  to  a  room  which  opens  into  the  great  Hall, 
beside  the  great  doors  of  the  Palace,  which  are  thronged  even 
now  by  our  followers  who  will  soon  be  pouring  into  the  Hall,  for 
the  dumb  slave  will  have  opened  by  now  the  door  and  let  them 
in.  Come  and  enter  in,  that  thou  mayest  be  safe,  for  I  must 
hurry  on  lest  I  miss  the  fine  sport  for  which  I  have  waited  now 
so  long." 

The  Queen  held  open  the  little  door  into  the  secret  passage 
as  she  spoke,  and  Zuleika,  frightened  and  anxious  to  escape  from 
the  mad  woman  beside  her,  hastily  entered  the  passage,  counting 
that  she  would  be  able  to  get  out  at  the  other  door,  for  she  did 
not  know  I  had  walled  it  up.  But  Artemisia  knew  it. 

With  a  wild  shriek  of  insane  laughter  which  rang  through  the 
deserted  rooms  and  reached  even  to  where  I  sat,  Artemisia  shut 
the  door  upon  Zuleika  and  fastened  it  upon  the  outside,  dragging 
some  heavy  furniture  before  it  to  make  it  the  more  secure  to  her 
frenzied  mind. 

'"Oh -sweet!  Sweet!  Sweet  is  this  hour  to  me,"  she  cried 
through  the  closed  doorway.  "Rich,  rich  shall  be  thy  reward, 
fair  Zuleika!  Long  mayest  thou  enjoy  the  harvest  of  all  thy 
wiles  and  all  thy  petty  schemes.  Thou  wilt  have  ample  time  fo 
enjoy  the  memory  of  the  past,  for  thou  shalt  lie  and  rot  within 
these  walls,  and  all  thy  fair  beauty  with  which  thou  didst  beguile 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRNIZIMAN  155 

my  son  unto  his  death  shall  turn  to  loathsome  decay  ere  one  shall 
come  to  succour  thee!  Die!  Die!  like  a  rat  in  a  trap,  a  toad  in 
a  hole,  and  in  thy  death  agonies  remember  that  it  is  thus  that 
Artemisia  hath  rewarded  thee." 

Then,  like  a  maniac,  laughing  and  muttering  to  herself, 
Artemisia  rushed  after  the  others,  while  the  unfortunte  Zuleika, 
realizing  the  horrors  of  her  position,  uttered  shriek  after  shriek 
of  alarm  and  agony,  sounds  which,  alas!  brought  none  to  her  aid, 
for  did  they  not  come  from  the  haunted  part  of  the  palace,  and 
only  inspired  with  superstitious  terror  those  who  heard  them. 
None  thought  they  came  from  a  human  being  in  mortal  extremity, 
for  none  knew  that  aught  in  human  form  would  venture  into 
those  fatal  rooms,  and  soon  the  sound  of  Zuleika 's  shrieks  were 
drowned  in  a  yet  greater  tumult. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 
THE  CURTAIN  OF  DEATH 

I  was  still  musing  upon  my  vision,  and  wondering  to  what 
danger  Abubatha's  warning  pointed,  when  on  the  stillness  of  the 
night  there  broke  first  the  muffled  sound  of  Artemisia's  wild  laugh 
and  then  Zuleika's  frenzied  shriek,  and  as  I  grasped  my  scimitar 
and  hurried  to  the  door  to  see  from  whence  these  sounds  came 
I  found  myself  face  to  face  with  the  forms  of  Ahmed  and  his  dumb 
slave,  while  the  room  behind  him  became  quickly  filled  with  the 
stealthily  creeping  figures  of  a  number  of  men. 

I  tried  to  defend  myself,  and  for  a  few  moments  my  skill  as  a 
swordsman  enabled  me  to  keep  my  assailants  at  bay,  but  what 
can  one  man  do  against  twenty,  and  though  my  shouts  brought 
my  guards  in  a  few  moments  around  me,  and  roused  the  whole 
palace,  the  soldiers  of  Ahmed  had  found  entrance  in  a  half  a  dozen 
places.  My  guards  fought  well,  but  they  were  confused  and 
without  any  settled  plan  of  defence,  while  Ahmed 's  men  were 
carrying  out  a  carefully  arranged  scheme.  Desperate  was  the 
resistance  we  made.  My  soldiers  fell  beside  me  fighting  to  the 
last,  while  I  myself,  though  wounded  by  many  a  spear  thrust, 


156  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

contrived  to  fight  my  way  into  the  larger  room  where  the  battle 
was  thickest,  and  strove  to  rally  my  guards.  But  there  I  suc- 
cumbed, overwhelmed  by  numbers  and  mortally  wounded. 

For  a  brief  moment  I  lost  consciousness,  then  I  revived  to 
find  myself  almost  alone,  while  the  tide  of  battle  had  swept  past 
me  towards  the  great  Hall.  As  I  opened  my  eyes  I  saw  that  the 
grey  dawn  of  day  was  breaking,  and  the  dim  light  from  the  case- 
ment fell  across  the  floor  where  I  lay.  I  could  not  raise  myself, 
I  could  not  move.  My  life  blood  was  flowing  from  my  many 
wounds  and  forming  a  deep  red  pool  upon  the  floor,  and  as  I  raised 
my  fast  glazing  eyes  from  it  I  saw  a  woman's  figure  stoop  over 
the  crimson  pool,  and  dip  her  hands  in  the  warm  blood  as  though 
she  were  washing  them,  while  to  herself  she  kept  muttering  and 
laughing  in  soft,  exultant  tones  of  pleasure.  With  a  start  I  recog- 
nised Artemisia,  and  grasping  my  dagger  I  made  a  frantic  effort 
to  raise  myself  and  stab  her  where  she  knelt.  But  my  feeble  hand 
fell  powerless  by  my  side,  my  dying  grasp  relaxed,  and  I  sank  back 
upon  the  ground  in  the  last  agony  of  the  great  change  which  men 
call  death.  And  as  my  eyes  closed  I  saw  Artemisia  bend  forward 
over  me,  with  the  cruel,  vindictive  smile  of  gratified  malice,  even 
as  I  had  seen  her  do  in  my  vision  so  long  ago,  and  the  last  thing 
mine  earthly  sight  beheld  was  the  look  of  mingled  hatred  and 
fiendish  triumph  in  the  eyes  of  Queen  Artemisia.  The  legacy  I 
bore  with  me  to  the  spirit  world  was  the  legacy  of  our  fierce  hate. 

Thus  fell  the  curtain  of  death  upon  the  first  act  of  that  drama 
which  had  been  begun  in  our  earthly  lives,  and  which  was  yet  to 
be  acted  out  upon  the  wider  grander  stage  of  the  spirit  world. 
For  as  we  had  sown  the  wind,  so  verily  was  each  one  of  us  to  reap 
the  whirlwind. 

END  OF  PART  I 


THE  STRANGE  STORY  OF 

AHRINZIMAN 

PART   II 

THE   REAPING   OF   THE    HARVEST 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  AWAKENING  IN  THE  ABYSS  OF  INFERNO 

From  a  Death-sleep  of  years  my  Soul  at  last  awoke  to  a  renewal 
of  its  conscious  individuality.  For  as  a  fruit  that  is  plucked 
untimely  from  the  tree  must  be  ripened  by  artificial  means  ere 
the  living  seeds  within  can  attain  the  degree  of  development 
necessary  to  their  germination,  so  the  Soul  which  is  hurried  from 
the  earthly  stage  of  life  before  the  Spiritual  body  is  sufficiently 
developed  to  serve  as  the  medium  for  its  sustainment  must  lie  like 
a  germinating  seed  within  the  green  husk  of  its  Astral  envelope 
until  the  gradual  ripening  of  the  truly  Spiritual  germ,  and  the 
consequent  decay  of  the  mere  Astral  husk  or  shell,  shall,  in  accord- 
ance with  a  law  of  all  nature,  release  the  Soul-seed  which  has  lain 
sheltered  within  the  protecting  envelope  till  it  was  ripe  for  the  life 
of  the  Spirit  World. 

The  Souls  of  all  who  die  before  they  have  lived  the  full  span 
allotted  to  man  are  not  necessarily  cut  off  from  the  tree  of  life  in 
an  unripened  state.  Many  who  thus  seem  to  die  too  soon  have 
already  reached  the  measure  of  the  experience  Earth  was  des- 
tined to  give  them.  They  have  gathered  their  ripened  sheaves, 
and  for  them  the  dagger  of  the  assassin,  the  sword  of  the  enemy, 
the  chill  hand  of  pestilence,  or  the  seemingly  untoward  accident, 
was  but  the  key  that  unlocked  for  them  the  gloomy  portals  of  that 
gate  whose  Guardian  Angel  men  call  Death. 

It  was  but  to  a  dream  consciousness  in  the  astral  world  that 
my  soul  at  first  awoke— a  nightmare  compared  to  the  clear  and, 

157 


i58  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

serene  consciousness  of  the  spirit  that  has  attained  to  its  true  life 
in  the  spirit  spheres,  but  yet  a  terrible  reality  to  the  self  that  was 
emerging  from  its  deep  sleep. 

Have  you  never,  when  your  soul  has  been  weighed  down  by 
some  oppression,  passed  through  horrible  scenes  and  agonies  of 
experience  that  were  as  realities  at  the  time,  yet  emerged  at  last 
into  the  serene  waking  into  the  fresh  dawn  light  of  another  day? 
But  what  if  you  could  not  wake,  and  your  painful  oppression 
continued  its  sense  of  reality  for  years  and  years ! 

In  my  case  my  earthly  life  was  an  unfinished  story,  a  half- 
written  page,  whose  blurred  message  and  half -learned  lessons 
required  that  my  Soul  should  hover  near  the  Earth  to  learn 
completely. 

In  the  darkness  of  the  Astral  Plane,  upon  the- Earth  yet  not 
of  the  Earth,  lay  my  Soul  in  its  death  trance,  for  several  years 
absorbing  unconsciously  the  atmosphere  of  earthly  magnetism 
which  was  needful  to  sustain  its  life,  and  ripen  that  Spiritual 
envelope  through  which  I  was  again  to  manifest  my  individuality. 

Such  was  the  penalty  I  paid  for  the  great  debasement  and 
passions  from  which  I  had  not  freed  my  Soul  when  it  was  hurried 
from  its  earthly  tenement — the  debasement  of  my  licentiousness 
when  living  with  Jelal-ud-din  and  the  passions  of  earthly  pride 
and  murderous  revenge  that  dominated  my  Soul  through  its  brief 
career,  and  still  dominated  it  against  Selim,  Zuleika  and  Arte- 
misia. While  my  soul  still  burned  with  the  fire  of  this  wild 
passion  it  remained  in  the  domains  of  my  Dark  Angel  in  the 
regions  of  Inferno — the  astral  spheres  beneath  the  Earth  Plane. 

But  why  dwell  at  length  over  the  horrible  episodes  that  now 
seemed  part  of  my  life.  Let  it  suffice  to  show  that  these  experi- 
ences are  all  bound  by  a  definite  law  of  correspondence,  and  to 
warn  my  fellow  beings  against  the  consequences  of  similar  acts 
of  Earth  life.  As  thou  sowest,  so  shall  thou  reap. 

In  a  mighty  cavern  of  the  Astral  Plane  my  Soul  awoke  at  last, 
and  as  one  who  arouses  himself  from  a  troubled  sleep  I  turned 
and  gazed  upon  my  surroundings.  I  thought  at  first  that  I  had 
dreamed  a  troubled  dream  in  which  I  had  been  slain,  so  real  and 
solid  to  my  sight  and  touch  were  the  grim  walls  of  rock  on  either 
side. 

Then  memory  awoke,  .and  I  remembered  that  it  was  in  the 
Palace  of  Parsagherd  that  I  had  died. 

I  looked  around  me  and  saw  that  vague,  shadowy  shapes 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  159 

were  flitting  about  in  the  semi-darkness,  and  a  chill  fear  fell  upon 
my  Soul,  for  I  felt  that  I  was  indeed  dead,  and  this  the  world  of 
the  Dead  that  I  beheld,  and  of  which  I  had  become  a  part. 

Clearer  and  clearer  to  my  sight  grew  the  misty  forms;  sharper 
and  yet  sharper  were  the  sounds  which  fell  upon  my  ears,  at  first 
like  faint  echoes  heard  in  dreams,  then  with  the  fullness  of  material 
sound.  Veil  after  veil  of  gauze-like  vapor,  which  appeared  to 
hang  between  me  and  my  surroundings,  seemed  slowly  to  rise, 
and  reveal  to  my  eyes  the  wonders  of  the  dread  Astral  Plane 
wherein  I  lay. 

I  was  still  shuddering  at  the  thoughts  sugested  to  me,  still 
thinking  with  remorse  of  the  days  of  my  own  moral  degradation, 
when  I  had  lived  with  Jelal-ud-din  and  indulged  in  practices  that 
I  now  knew  to  have  borne  such  awful  fruit,  when  I  was  aroused 
from  my  thoughts  by  the  sudden  inrush  of  a  crowd  of  Spirits, 
who  came  yelling  and  laughing  into  the  cavern  where  I  lay. 

These  last  arrivals  were  so  like  mortal  men  and  women  that 
I  had  no  trouble  in  recognising  them  as  disembodied  human 
beings  like  myself.  In  them  there  was  no  lack  of  intelligence, 
but  it  was  intelligence  which  had  been  used  for  evil  and  not  for 
good  purposes,  and  the  fierce  light  of  passion,  the  dull  glow  of 
hatred,  the  sullen  bitterness  of  despair,  gleamed  from  their  eyes 
and  traced  their  marks  on  every  feature. 

These  beings  gathered  around  me  with  angry  cries,  coarse 
taunts,  and  savage  shouts  of  welcome,  hailing  me  as  a  comrade 
and  reviling  me  as  being  to  the  full  as  worthy  of  damnation  as 
themselves.  As  I  shrank  back  in  horror  from  their  clumsy,, 
ferocious  embraces  they  began  to  assail  me  with  cries  of  anger 
and  savage  blows,  shrieking  out  to  me  to  look  at  myself  and  see 
in  what  respect  I  differed  from  them,  by  what  right  I  dared  to 
hold  aloof. from  such  good  company? 

Rousing  myself  by  a  mighty  effort  of  my  will  from  the  trance- 
like  spell  which  bound  me,  I  sprang  up  from  the  hard  rock 
whereon  I  lay,  and  hurling  aside  the  nearest  of  my  assailants 
rushed  from  the  dark  cave  along  a  narrow  passage  to  a  wide 
plain  that  lay  beyond.  As  I  fled  I  heard  the  wild  crew  whom 
I  had  left  begin  a  violent  quarrel  among  themselves,  which  for 
the  moment  caused  me  to  be  forgotten. 


160  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


CHAPTER  II 

IN  THE  INFERNO;  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  GENII 

For  a  short  time  I  felt  myself  hurried  onward,  I  could  neither 
see  nor  guess  where.  I  appeared  to  glide  over  the  ground  and 
float  in  the  air,  impelled  forward  by  some  unseen  force.  Then 
my  journey  was  suddenly  arrested,  and  I  found  myself  standing 
in  a  wide  misty  valley,  shut  in  by  dark,  lofty  hills  which  rose  on 
every  side,  while  above  my  head  thick  clouds  of  inky  vapor  hung 
like  a  funeral  pall.  Dark  forms  of  gigantic  stature  hovered 
around  me  with  outstretched  wings,  their  dimly  outlined  forms 
being  those  of  men,  while  their  wings  were  shaped  like  those  of 
mighty  birds.  Impalpable  as  smoke  wreaths  were  they,  and  yet 
distinct  as  figures  carved  from  tinted  glass,  and  as  transparent. 
As  these  phantom  forms  floated  to  and  fro  around  me  they  crossed 
and  recrossed  each  others'  paths,  mingling  their  dark  bodies  like 
streams  of  vapor,  yet  each  emerging  from  the  contact  in  as  perfect 
a  form  as  though  they  had  been  made  of  iron.  Some  of  these 
beings  were  of  enormous  size,  and  bore  the  impress  of  individual 
intelligence  in  their  faces,  while  others  were  diminutive  and  atten- 
uated in  figure,  and  almost  vacant  in  expression. 

At  first  these  figures  were  seen  by  me  as  through  a  curtain  of 
dark  mist,  but  even  while  I  gazed  on  them  I  felt  the  same  curious 
impression  of  curtain  after  curtain  of  gauzy  vapor  being  raised 
around  me  which  I  had  felt  on  awakening  in  the  cavern,  and  one 
by  one  the  features  and  forms  of  these  hovering  shapes  became 
distinct  to  me. 

I  saw  that  each  figure  bore  upon  its  forehead  a  tiny  Star,  like 
a  spark  of  light,  each  of  a  different  color,  and  the  shadowy  robes 
which  enveloped  each  form  seemed  to  glitter  like  the  many 
colored  scales  upon  a  dragon's  body  in  the  dulf  glow  of  light  from 
these  tiny  Stars,  while  the  outstretched  wings  that  were  in  shape 
like  unto  the  wings. of  a  bird  were  as  gossamer  and  transparent 
as  a  spider's  web. 

As  the  mists  around  me  rose  and  floated  like  clouds  away  I 
noticed  that  all  around  me  there  was  a  circle  of  these  strange 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  161 

beings,  not  so  large  as  were  many  of  the  others,  yet  huge  hovering 
phantoms  compared  to  my  own  stature.  To 'my  surprise  I  saw 
that  the  features  of  each  bore  so  close  a  resemblance  to  my  own 
that  they  looked  like  replicas  of  myself,  only  the  expression  was 
different  in  each  case,  and  represented  each  the  influence  of  a 
different  passion,  even  as  each  phantom  shape  differed  in  size 
and  in  the  color  emitted  from  its  tiny  Star. 

One  which  bore  a  pale  white  light  was  small,  and  seemed  at 
times  to  melt  almost  away.  Another,  whose  light  was  green 
was  also  small,  and  something  whispered  to  me  that  these 
represented,  the  first  the  quality  of  unselfishness,  and  the  second 
the  passion  of  envy.  The  Star  of  a  third  was  yellow;  a  fourth's 
pale  blue;  a  fifth's  lilac;  a  sixth's  purple;  while  the  seventh  Star 
was  a  deep  crimson  red.  The  Genie  with  the  purple  Star  was 
large  and  towered  above  his  fellows,  and  to  my  thoughts  he  sym- 
bolized the  boundless  ambition  that  grasps  at  Royal  Power.  The 
Crimson  Star  upon  the  brow  of  the  seventh  Genie  glowed  like  a 
living  coal,  and  the  fierce  murderous  gleam  in  the  bloodshot  eyes, 
the  tiger-like  ferocity  of  his  expression,  told  me  at  once  that  here 
was  the  embodiment  of  the  passions  of  hatred  and  revenge  and 
murder.  Equal  in  size  unto  the  Genie  of  Ambition,  this  being 
was  even  more  instinct  with  vitality  and  power.  Near  to  this 
seventh  Spirit  there  hovered  a  grey  and  almost  shapeless  form, 
with  shrouded  head  and  veiled  face,  that  like  an  attendant  shadow 
dogged  the  footsteps  of  the  Genie  of  Revenge  and  followed  every 
movement  that  it  made.  This  grey  shape,  vague  as  yet  and 
featureless,  almost  formless  and  half  created,  I  knew  to  be  Re- 
morse, whose  shadow  ever  haunts  Revenge,  but  whose  whisperings 
are  ever  powerless  to  stay  his  hand. 

And  as  I  gazed  upon  the  wavering,  circling  figures  of  these 
embodiments  of  man's  passions,  a  voice  again  breathed  to  my 
Soul  the  interpretation. 

"Behold  now  these,  the  attendant  Genii  of  thy  life,  who  sym- 
bolise each  a  passion  of  thy  Soul.  Born  into  life  when  thou  wast 
born;  fed  and  sustained  by  the  life  of  thy  passions;  destined  to 
grow  or  to  fade,  to  endure  or  to  perish,  according  to  the  strength 
of  the  vitality  and  power  with  which  thou  hast  supplied  them. 
Look  upon  them  well,  and  ask  thyself  whether  they  shall  be  thy 
servants  or  whether  thou  shalt  yield  thyself  unto  them  as  a  slave; 
whether  thou  shalt  rule  them  or  they  shall  rule  thee.  Turn  thine 
eyes  from  the  contemplation  of  thine  own  passions  and  see  the 


162          THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

structures  which  have  been  reared  by  the  passions  and  desires  of 
other  men.  For,  behold!  Thou  art  in  the  Phantom  Valley  of 
the  Genii  of  men's  Souls,  and  around  thee  are  the  mighty  works 
which  the  ambitions,  the  greed,  the  jealousy  and  the  anger,  the 
envy  and  the  hatred,  the  despair  and  the  hope,  the  selfishness  and 
the  unselfishness  of  myriads  of  men  have  created,  to  endure  as 
monuments  of  their  past  lives  long  after  they  Who  created  them 
shall  have  passed  on  to  other  spheres.  The  true  Genii  whom  men 
call  to  their  aid  are  but  these  embodiments  of  the  passions  of  man- 
kind ;  the  power  they  wield  is  but  the  resistless  force  of  the  great 
ocean  of  thought  waves  which  ebb  and  flow  to  and  from  the  Earth 
continually,  and  bear  man  to  sorrow  or  to  joy,  to  good  or  evil  deeds 
according  as  he  chooses  to  commit  himself  to  one  or  the  other  of 
the  mighty  currents  of  passion  that  sweep  around  the  Soul. 
These  Genii  live  in  these  waves  of  passionate  thought  as  fish 
swim  in  the  sea.  Were  they  transported  to  where  the  fiercer 
passions  no  longer  sway  the  Soul  they  must  perish  and  dissolve 
like  vapor  in  the  sun.  Yet  here  upon  the  great  Earth  Plane  they 
have  a  distinct  existence,  and  they  act  and  re-act  upon  man,  sug- 
gesting thoughts  to  him,  even  as  a  higher  intelligence,  be  it  good 
or  evil,  shall  direct  them.  Soulless  and  perishable,  no  more  ma- 
terial than  the  thoughts  men  breathe,  they  yet  possess  a  mighty 
power  over  those  who  yield  themselves  unto  their  passions. 

"Hast  thou  considered  how  great,  how  enduring,  is  the  power 
of  a  single  thought  sent  forth  to  influence  the  lives  of  all  to  whose 
minds  it  is  repeated?  If  so,  canst  thou  wonder  that  the  thoughts, 
the  passions,  the  desires  of  man,  should  thus  become  endowed 
with  an  almost  independent  life,  and  become  in  this  etherealised 
atmosphere  almost  material  beings?  Think  on  these  things, 
for  in  the  life  that  lies  before  thee  now  thou  shalt  again  be 
called  upon  to  choose  thy  path,  to  be  the  architect  of  thine  own 
Destiny,  and  as  thou  shalt  suffer  the  one  or  the  other  of  thy 
passions  to  sway  thee,  so  shall  thy  pathway  turn  to  Darkness  or 
to  Light,  to  Heaven  above  or  to  the  depths  of  Hell  below." 

The  voice  ceased.  I  gazed  around  me  and  perceived  that  the 
valley  was  full  of  light.  The  mists  were  gone,  and  around  me 
on  every  side  rose  Palace  after  Palace  of  colossal  size,  yet  aerial 
and  transparent  as  the  fleecy  clouds  upon  a  summer  sky,  rainbow 
hued,  and  glistening  in  the  dazzling  light  that  now  filled  the  valley, 
till  they  looked  like  fairy  palaces  in  a  dream.  The  delicate 
pillars, 'the  graceful  porticoes,  the  golden  gates,  the  snow  white 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  163 

roofs,  all  distinct  and  clear  yet  fragile  as  a  gossamer  and  aerial  as 
rainbow  tinted  vapor.  Vast  beyond  the  power  of  sight  to  follow 
appeared  the  confines  of  this  valley.  Stretching  onward  and  ever 
onward  were  these  cities  of  men's  thoughts  and  hopes,  their 
passions  and  desires,  floating  like  cities  built  in  the  clouds:  while 
in  and  out,  backward  and  forward  through  these  colossal  buildings 
floated  the  mighty  Genii  whom  I  had  so  dimly  seen  at  first. 

Here  there  would  be  a  Palace  of  blood  red  marble,  its 
windows  glowing  like  furnaces,  its  gates  like  white  hot  iron; 
around  this  there  hovered  myriads  of  Genii  of  the  Blood  Red 
Star  of  Revenge. 

Beyond  that  there  glittered  the  purple  and  golden  Palace  of 
Ambition,  and  next  it  the  green  and  copper-tinted  Palace  of  Envy 
and  Jealousy. 

Each  Star  and  each  passion  had  its  corresponding  Palace, 
which  seemed  to  afford  a  dwelling  place  for  the  Genii  of  that  Star. 
The  glow  of  light  that  filled  the  valley  was  like  prismatic  waves, 
changing  to  every  hue  of  the  rainbow  and  suffusing  the  scene  with 
first  one  glow  of  color  and  then  another. 

I  gazed  on  the  strange  scene  with  a  mixture  of  wonder  and 
delight  as  Palace  after  Palace  was  revealed  to  my  sight.  And 
then  suddenly,  even  as  I  gazed,  it  all  crumbled  into  dust.  The 
walls  of  the  Palaces  were  shattered  as  by  an  earthquake,  and  a 
foul  swamp  seemed  to  open  and  swallow  them  up.  The  radiant 
light  gave  place  to  a  misty  vapor,  heavy  and-  foetid  as  though  it 
blew  from  an  open  graveyard,  pestilential  as  from  a  plague 
stricken  city  of  the  dead.  The  heavy  mist  rolled  on  like  a  sea 
till  it  shut  me  in  on  every  side,  and  wrapped  me  round  as  with 
a  mantle  of  darkness. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  DOWNWARD  PATH  AND  THE  DARK  ANGEL 

As  the  darkness  shut  me  in  I  heard  a  voice  that  I  recognized 
to  be  the  voice  of  Queen  Artemisia,  calling  aloud  and  invoking 
curses  upon  my  name.  At  the  sound  of  that  voice  my  recollec 


1 64  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

tion  of  the  past  and  of  my  death  grew  suddenly  clear.  The 
memory  of  all  my  unsatisfied  ambitions,  all  my  unfulfilled  hopes, 
all  my  many  wrongs,  my  ruined  life,  my  dishonored  wife,  my 
murdered  mother,  my  own  untimely  end,  surged  like  a  sea  of 
passion  across  my  Soul.  Silhouetted  like  pictures  traced  in  fire 
and  blood  I  saw  the  events  of  my  life  thrown  upon  the  dark 
screen  of  mist  around  me.  The  last  picture  of  all  was  that  of 
Artemisia  as  she  sat  beside  my  dying  body  and  dabbled  her  hands 
in  my  life's  blood. 

The  bitter  hatred  of  that  moment,  the  impotent  and  uncon- 
quered  thirst  for  the  revenge  of  which  I  had  been  so  long  baulked, 
awoke  with  ten  fold  power  within  my  Soul,  and  with  a  great  cry 
of  rage  I  rose  to  my  feet,  and  stretching  forth  my  hands  I  called 
aloud  to  Heaven  and  to  Hell  in  the  name  of  Justice  to  grant  me 
vengeance!  Yea,  though  it  should  take  a  thousand  years  to 
accomplish,  and  though  the  slaking  of  my  thirst  should  sink  my 
own  Soul  to  the  lowest  depths  of  Hell. 

As  I  uttered  my  impious  prayer  the  ground  beneath  my  feet 
trembled  as  though  a  mighty  volcanic  shock  had  shaken  it.  A 
great  chasm  opened  before  my  feet,  and  a  great  gulf  seemed  to 
separate  me  from  the  spot  whereon  I  had  stood.  There  was  the 
rushing  sound  as  of  a  great  host,  the  hurried  flight  of  myriads 
of  winged  creatures  towards  me,  and  then  a  great  blaze  of  red 
light.  The  sudden  glow  as  of  a  mighty  Star  seemed  to  rend  the 
mantle  of  darkness  around  me,  and  like  a  figure  of  flame,  clad 
in  robes  of  crimson  and  purple,  I  saw  the  Dark  Angel  once  more. 

No  longer  veiled  was  that  majestic  countenance.  As  clearly 
as  the  sun  lights  up  the  Earth  at  noonday  did  the  fiery  light  which 
surrounded  him  illuminate  each  feature,  and  show  me  how  the 
fierce  flames  of  passion  had  seamed  and  scarred  every  feature, 
marring  the  beauty  of  what  even  yet  was  a  type  of  the  most  per- 
fect manly  beauty.  The  eyes  almost  scorched  me  with  the  in- 
tense passion  of  their  gaze,  yet  did  I  not  flinch  from  their  regard, 
but  answered  him  with  a  look  almost  as  proud  and  passionate  as 
his  own. 

The  deep,  full  tones  of  his  voice  seemed  to  vibrate  through 
my  Soul  and  awaken  yet  fresh  echoes  of  anger  within  me,  as  he 
said  : 

"Behold,  I  am  come !    Say  in  what  manner  I  can  assist  thee." 

And  I  answered  him : 

"  Oh,  Angel  of  Darkness !    I  seek  revenge  upon  mine  enemies. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  165 

I  desire  to  reign  here  as  a  King,  since  I  can  no  longer  reign  on 
Earth.  I  look  to  thee  to  aid  me,  since  thou  art  mighty,  and  thou 
hast  responded  to  my  call." 

'And  dost  thou  not  fear,"  said  he  slowly,  "to  call  upon  the 
Dark  Angels  to  help  thee?  Doth  not  the  terror  of  Death  lie 
even  yet  upon  thy  Soul,  since  thou  art  in  Death's  Kingdom? 
Hast  thou  no  longings  left  for  Heaven,  since  thou  art  so  ready 
to  plunge  thyself  into  Hell?" 

"In  Heaven  Artemisia  doth  not  dwell.  She  can  no  more  enter 
there  than  can  I  myself.  Whether  she  is  yet  on  Earth  I  know 
not,  but  this  I  know,  that  I  am  surely  in  Hell  and  here  will  I  await 
her  till  she  and  I  have  adjusted  the  bitter  measure  of  the  debt 
between  us.  I  could  not  live  in  Heaven  were  its  doors  to  open 
to  me  now,  and  know  that  by  entering  therein  I  resigned  my 
chance  of  meeting  her.  Paradise  could  have  no  joys  for  me  while 
the  fires  of  Revenge  consume  my  Soul." 

The  Dark  Angel  laughed  a  bitter  savage  laugh  of  exultant 
malice,  as  he  replied: 

"Of  a  truth  thou  art  worthy  to  become  one  of  my  followers! 
Even  I  can  feel  no  deeper  hate  than  thine!  But  tell  me,  what 
wilt  thou  give  me  in  exchange  if  I  grant  thy  wish?  Wilt  thou 
sell  thyself  to  be  my  slave?" 

"Thy  slave?  No!  I  have  said  that  I  would  be  a  King!  Is 
any  man  truly  a  King  who  holds  himself  the  slave  of  one  even 
so  powerful  as  thou?  I  could  not  promise  to  be  the  slave  of  any, 
for  I  could  not  keep  that  promise;  and  dear  as  is  my  vengeance 
to  my  Soul  I  cannot  make  false  promises  to  attain  it.  If  thou 
wilt  aid  me  I  will  give  thee  the  best  service  that  is  mine  to  give. 
I  will  serve  thee  till  the  debt  is  paid,  with  interest  a  thousand 
fold.  I  will  sit  at  thy  feet  as  one  who  sits  at  the  feet  of  a  great 
master,  and  I  will  serve  thee  as  a  soldier  serves  his  general.  More 
I  cannot  say,  for  more  I  would  not  do.  If  thou  wilt  not  give  me 
thine  aid  then  must  I  find  other  means  to  gain  mine  ends,  for 
if  I  have  to  live  through  all  the  ages  of  eternity  to  gain  my  desires 
I  shall  not  cease  to  strive  for  them." 

For  some  moments  the  Dark  Angel  answered  me  not,  but 
fixing  his  hollow  eyes  upon  my  face  gazed  at  me  with  a  look  half 
wondering  and  half  sad.  Then  with  a  deep  sigh  he  said  : 

"Eternity!  But  Oh,  man!  Fresh  from  Earth  life,  can  it 
be  that  thou  dost  indeed  realize  what  an  Eternity  can  mean?  Ah, 
no!  None  can,  save  those  who  have  watched  the  slow  ages  roll 


166  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

on  unchanging  and  unchanged.  I  might  refuse  thee  aid  upon 
the  terms  which  thou  dost  offer,  but  I  am  attracted  by  the  boldness 
of  thy  spirit  which  hath  much  in  affinity  with  mine  own,  and  as 
I  have  aided  thee  in  the  past,  so  will  I  aid  thee  again — to  work 
out  thine  own  damnation  and  garner  for  thyself  the  bitterest  fruits 
of  the  tree  of  knowledge. 

"Behold  the  followers  whom  I  will  assign  to  thee,  and  if  thou 
canst  control  so  wild  a  crew,  and  bend  their  wills  to  thine,  then 
of  a  truth  shall  thou  be  worthy  to  reign  with  me  in  these  dark 
spheres!" 

He  waved  his  hand,  and  as  one  sees  the  tail  of  a  comet  stretching 
far  out  across  a  night  sky,  so  did  I  see  a  vast  train  of  fiery  Spirits 
sweep  downwards  to  the  glowing  Star  which  encircled  the  Dark 
Angel.  Then  did  he  wave  his  hand  thrice  over  my  head,  as 
though  in  some  awful  mockery  of  a  benison,  while  his  voice  rang 
out  in  strident  tones  this  command  unto  his  followers: 

"  Serve  ye  this  man,  this  newly  arrived  son  of  mortality. 
Teach  him  the  secrets  of  the  Dark  Spheres,  and  serve  him  even 
as  ye  would  serve  me. 

"Fare  ye  well,  or  rather  fare  ye  ill,  for  naught  but  evil  comes 
to  those  who  seek  the  gifts  and  friendship  of  the  Dark  Angels." 


CHAPTER  IV 

I  MEET  MEGABYZUS 

As  the  Dark  Angel  vanished  I  turned  to  look  at  the  motley 
band  of  servitors  which  he  had  assigned  to  me,  wondering  much 
how  I  was  to  learn  the  qualities  and  capabilities  of  each,  and  how, 
without  such  knowledge,  I  was  to  control  this  volcanic  mass  of 
sentient  beings  which  gathered  around  me  like  a  great  ring  of 
evil,  standing  aloof  from  personal  contact  in  attitudes  of  respect- 
ful fear. 

While  I  contemplated  them,  as  a  general  surveys  the  forces 
at  his  command,  an  aged  Spirit  stepped  out  from  the  throng  and 
prostrated  himself  at  my  feet  in  a  salutation  of  the  most  abject 
humility.  His  figure  though  bent  with  age  was  large  and  power- 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  167 

ful,  his  hair  and  beard  long  and  flowing  and  white  as  snow.  His 
face,  yellow  and  crinkled  as  old  parchment,  bore  nevertheless  the 
stamp  of  great  intellectual  power.  The  eyes  which  looked  up  at 
me  from  their  hollow  sockets  were  bleared  and  dull,  and  watched 
my  face  with  the  furtive  cunning  of  a  ferret.  A  dull  ferocity  of 
suppressed  passion  was  expressed  in  the  tightly  compressed  lips 
and  hard  lines  about  the  mouth,  while  the  whole  countenance 
bore  the  impress  of  the  most  degraded  sensuality  and  wickedness, 
and  yet  there  were  traces  in  his  face  of  a  Spirit  that  had  once  been 
noble  and  that  had  some  kinship  to  my  nature. 

As  I  signed  to  him  to  rise,  and  bade  him  speak,  he  stood  up, 
but  still  keeping  his  head  bowed  before  me,  said : 

''Most  Gracious  Prince — for  only  to  a  Prince  would  our  great 
Master,  the  Dark  Angel,  assign  so  great  a  train  as  he  hath  given 
thee — most  Gracious  Prince,  if  it  pleases  thee  to  hear  me  I  would 
fain  instruct  thee  in  all  things  concerning  these  wondrous  Beings 
of  the  Astral  Plane  who  are  assigned  to  thee  as  servants.  Behold, 
on  Earth  I  was  a  mighty  Sorcerer,  who  once,  alas !  followed  knowl- 
edge for  its  own  sake.  Then  I  was  tempted,  and  I  fell,  and  turned 
my  knowledge  to  evil  purposes  alone.  Thus  have  I  come  here, 
and  therefore  must  I  dwell  within  these  dark  regions.  Yet  even 
here  Knowledge  is  Power,  and  by  its  aid  I  bend  to  my  will  those 
whom  I  desire  to  serve  me.  I  have  studied  here  upon  this  further 
shore  of  the  dark  River  of  Death  the  subjects  which  engrossed 
my  thoughts  on  Earth,  and  in  correcting  many  errors  I  have 
gained  a  degree  of  power  undreamed  of  in  the  life  of  Earth. 
Much  of  this  knowledge  I  will  impart  to  thee,  since  it  is  the 
command  of  the  Dark  Angel  that  I  should  do  so.  I  will  be  thy 
guide  through  these  dark  regions,  and  none  can  guide  as  well  as 
he  who  hath  himself  traversed  in  Earth  life  every  step  of  the 
winding  paths  of  forbidden  knowledge." 

"And,  if  I  may  ask  the  questions,  who  wert  thou  in  thine 
Earth  life?  How  long  hast  thou  been  a  dweller  in  these  spheres? " 

"Alas!  Ages  upon  ages  have  I  dwelt  here.  The  Earth  was 
but  young  when  I  was  born  into  its  life,  and  though  I  lived  for 
many  centuries  beyond  the  allotted  span  of  man's  days,  yet  was 
my  long  life  but  as  a  mere  drop  in  the  great  ocean  of  time  through 
which  I  have  existed.  Who  was  I?  Ask  not  that  question.  Let 
my  name  and  memory  be  buried  in  oblivion.  Let  none  know 
what  is  the  fate  of  one  who  was  esteemed  the  wisest  magician  of 
his  age.  But  if  thou  wouldst  know  somewhat  of  my  personality 


168  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

I  may  tell  thee  that  it  was  I  who  wrote  the  parchment  scroll  that 
was  taken  from  the  grave  of  Adam  and  given  unto  thy  Master 
Jelal-ud-din,  and  it  was  I  who  snatched  that  scroll  from  thy  hand 
when  thou  didst  sit  beside  thy  watch-fire  on  the  lonely  plain,  and 
sought  to  read  the  secrets  never  meant  for  thine  eyes  to  see." 

He  paused,  and  his  voice  trembled  with  passion  as  he  spoke, 
while  the  dull  eyes  lighted  up  for  a  brief  moment  with  the  fire  of 
youth  and  anger  as  he  thought  of  the  great  secret  I  had  so  nearly 
stolen  from  the  keeping  of  the  dead.  Then  the  fire  died  out  of 
voice  and  eyes,  and  the  dull  impassive  expression  of  calm  malig- 
nity came  upon  his  face  once  more,  and  he  stood  silent  at  my  side. 

"And  didst  thou  then  ever  influence  my  Master  Jelal-ud-din 
in  his  studies,  for  he  admired  the  teachings  of  thine  Earth  life 
much?" 

"Jelal-ud-din  I  have  influenced  at  times,"  he  replied,  "but  it 
was  difficult  to  impress  him  clearly.  With  a  great  thirst  lor 
occult  knowledge,  he  did  not  possess  the  needful  powers,  and  he 
was  so  fond  of  studying  the  records  of  those  who  had  explored 
the  path  before  him,  so  ready  to  adopt  all  their  teachings  as 
infallibly  correct,  that  I  found  it  impossible  to  correct  through 
his  agency  the  errors  for  which  I  was  responsible,  and  which 
arose  through  the  imperfect  sight  which  is  the  bane  of  all  who 
would  explore  the  wonders  of  the  unknown  world  of  the  Astral 
Plane  from  the  Earthly  side  of  life.  Few,  very  few,  who  possess 
the  needful  clearness  of  sight  ever  learn  how  to  use  it  successfully. 
Still  fewer  have  the  indomitable  will  and  the  unquenchable  thirst 
for  knowledge  which  will  carry  them  through  all  the  dangers  and 
trials  and  disappointments,  and  the  infinite  toil  and  labor,  involved 
in  these  studies. 

"The  gifts  of  etherealised  Soul-sight  are  seldom  or  never 
combined  with  the  sterner  qualities  of  the  great  student;  there- 
fore it  is  that  the  student  has  to  depend  upon  the  revelations  given 
him  by  others.  His  data  are  all  based  upon  the  supposition  that 
these  Soul-seers  have  told  him  truly  and  correctly  all  they  saw, 
and  in  most  cases,  even  where  all  possible  care  has  been  taken, 
the  clairvoyants  will  see  either  a  reflection  of  a  mixture  of  their 
own  thoughts  with  the  visions  shown,  or  the  thoughts  of  those 
who  are  their  earthly  teachers. 

"Thou  hast  served  in  a  Temple  in  thy  youth.  Thou  must 
know  that  though  I  am  evil,  yea,  very  evil,  as  are  all  those  who 
serve  the  Dark  Angel,  yet  in  my  thirst  after  knowledge  I  ever 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  169 

sought  for  truth,  and  only  truth,  and  the  love  of  the  true 
knowledge  is  yet  strong  within  me,  the  desire  to  impart  it  is  as 
great  as  ever. 

"Therefore,  when  I  beheld  thee,  and  read  the  intense  passion 
of  discontent  which  consumed  thy  Soul,  the  wild  longings  of 
Ambition,  the  fierce  thirst  for  Independence  and  for  Power,  I  was 
attracted  to  thee,  and  I  sought  by  all  means  to  draw  nearer  and 
still  nearer,  that  I  might  draw  thee  from  the  shelter  of  the  Temple's 
walls  and  turn  thy  footsteps  till  they  should  cross  the  path  of  my 
pupil  Jelal-ud-din.  I  sought  to  guide  thee  to  him,  and  though 
other  influences  intervened  to  delay  my  purpose  for  a  time,  I  at 
last  succeeded.  Hadst  not  Ambition  and  thy  desire  for  Earthly 
grandeur  been  a  stronger  influence  than  thy  thirst  for  knowledge 
I  should  have  tried  through  thee  to  give  to  the  world  the  teachings 
I  could  not  give  through  Jelal-ud-din." 

Again  was  his  face  lighted  up  by  the  enthusiasm  awakened  by 
this  subject,  which,  even  amidst  the  hopelessness  of  his  awful 
surroundings,  had  power  to  awaken  his  interest  and  beguile  his 
thoughts  for  a  time  from  a  sense  of  his  degradation. 

I  could  not  refrain  from  contemplating  the  strange  character 
of  this  man,  who,  essentially  evil  in  all  other  desires,  could  yet 
retain  so  pure  a  love  of  truth  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge.  And 
I  asked  myself  whether  this  one  ray  from  the  Star  of  Truth  might 
not  some  day,  perhaps  prove  a  rope  of  light  to  raise  him  even  from 
this  dark  sphere. 


CHAPTER  V 

MY  OLD  MASTER;  TEACHINGS  ON  THE  DEMATER- 
IALIZING  OF  OBJECTS  AND  THE  PROLONGA- 
TION OF  LIFE  IN  EARTH  BODIES 

"Thou  dost  speak  of  Jelal-ud-din,"  said  I,  "where  is  now 
this  man?  What  hath  become  of  his  Spirit?  How  has  he  passed 
the  time  which  hath  elapsed  since  his  death?  I  would  fain  know 
of  these  things,  and  also  by  what  agency  he  met  his  death?" 

"Come  with  me  and  I  will  show  thee  Jelal-ud-din,"  he  replied. 


170          THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZINAN 

"But  first  dismiss  thy  many  followers,  for  we  do  not  require  their 
presence,  and  thou  canst  recall  them  to  thee  at  will." 

I  bethought  me  of  some  of  the  expressions  by  which  Jelal-ud- 
din  had  been  wont  to  summon  or  dismiss  these  low  Astral  Spirits 
whom  he  had  learned  to  control,  and  making  use  of  one  of  them 
I  saw  all  the  strange  beings  who  had  hung  around  us  while  we 
talked  suddenly  vanish  like  a  dark  cloud.  Then  taking  me  by 
the  hand,  the  Spirit  who  was  guiding  me  rose  in  the  air,  and  as  I 
followed  with  him  I  saw  that  we  were  travelling  by  a  widely 
ascending  spiral  path  to  a  large  globe  that  I  knew  to  be  the 
Earth.  In  a  very  few  moments  we  alighted  upon  it,  and  I  found 
that  we  were  in  the  deserted  garden  of  the  house  which  had 
belonged  to  Jelal-ud-din. 

But  what  a  different  place  it  seemed  when  viewed  from  the 
Spiritual  side  of  life!  No  mere  decay  of  years  could  have  so 
appallingly  stamped  upon  it  the  evil  nature  of  the  deeds  of  which 
its  walls  had  been  the  silent  witnesses.  The  corruption  of  those 
who  had  dwelt  there  seemed  to  have  infested  the  house  as  with 
the  plague  of  leprosy,  and  draped  the  wralls  in  the  foul  shimmer 
of  a  stagnant  pool  whose  waters  hid  the  still  more  loathsome 
corruption  of  the  decaying  corpses  of  murdered  men.  The 
garden  was  a  vast  wilderness  of  poisonous  weeds.  Rank,  unholy 
trees,  exhaling  an  odour  more  deadly  than  the  baneful  upas  tree, 
had  sprung  up  around  the  house.  The  whole  air  was  tainted 
with  an  infection  more  subtle  than  that  of  a  plague,  more  swift 
in  destruction  than  the  most  deadly  gas.  In  the  great  branches 
of  these  trees  huge  birds  of  prey  sat  brooding,  like  vultures  enjoy- 
ing the  rank  odour  of  the  carrion  below.  Horrible  creatures  of 
every  conceivable  shape  and  kind  crawled  or  fluttered  amongst 
the  poisonous  weeds.  Awful  beings  of  the  Astral  Plane  sought 
shelter  within  the  crumbling  walls  of  the  accursed  house,  and 
wraith-like  figures  of  the  many  mortals  whom  Jelal-ud-din  had 
poisoned  and  killed  by  divers  means  haunted  the  deserted  rooms 
and  wandered  through  the  silent  passages,  attracted  by  the 
magnetism  of  the  man  whose  arts  had  killed  them. 

Could  I  have  cried  aloud  unto  mankind  and  proclaimed  how 
terrible  a  plague  spot  was  this  house,  and  how  deadly  a  miasma 
breathed  from  its  decaying  walls,  I  would  have  bade  them  level 
it  to  the  ground  and  consume  it  and  the  foul  garden  in  one  great 
funeral  pyre,  and  scatter  the  ashes  to  the  four  winds  of  Heaven, 
rather  than  leave  it  thus  to  become  a  focus  of  corruption  from 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  171 

whence  exhaled  a  poison  more  destructive  than  any  earthly  poison 
could  be;  a  center  from  which  could  radiate  the  influences  most 
fatal  to  the  Spirit. 

But  I  was  dead.    To  my  voice  all  mortal  ears  were  deaf  for 
ever  more. 


As  I  turned  from  the  house  something  large  and  dark  rose 
from  the  ground  beside  the  fountain,  and  began  to  drag  itself 
along  the  ground  with  slow  and  painful  movements  of  its  body, 
like  those  a  snake  makes  as  it  wriggles  along.  Something,  that 
as  it  drew  near  I  saw  to  be  in  size  and  form  like  unto  a  man, 
clothed  in  dark  rags  like  tattered  cobwebs.  The  face  was 
bent  towards  the  ground,  and  the  hands,  like  claws,  were 
used  to  dig  into  the  ground  as  the  figure  drew  itself  slowly 
towards  me. 

Then  the  head  was  raised  for  a  moment  to  look  at  us,  and 
as  with  a  savage  cry  of  rage  the  figure  raised  itself  slightly  to  look 
more  closely,  I  recognized  the  swollen  and  distorted  features  of 
my  late  Master  Jelal-ud-din.  Fiercely  he  struggled  to  rise  up  to 
attack  me,  but  his  limbs  were  powerless  to  bear  his  weight,  and 
with  a  moan  of  savage  anguish  he  sank  on  the  ground  once  more, 
and  made  frantic  efforts  to  wriggle  to  my  feet  to  clutch  at  me. 

Horrified  at  the  sight  of  his  awful  condition,  I  addressed  him, 
and  asked  him  why  he  displayed  such  animosity  towards  me, 
since  I  had  come  to  see  him  in  all  friendliness. 

"Friendliness!"  he  hissed  out  savagely  in  hoarse,  broken 
gasps,  "what  friend  of  mine  wert  thou  to  leave  me  at  the  very 
instant  when  success  was  about  to  crown  the  efforts  of  many 
years?  What  friendship  hadst  thou,  whp  could  desert  me  at 
that  crisis,  and  consign  me  to  this  worse  than  death?  Avaunt! 
or  I  wdll  rend  thee  in  a  thousand  pieces !  Were  I  but  able  I  would 
tear  thee  limb  from  limb." 

"Nay,  be  not  so  savage  with  me,"  said  I,  "thou  dost  forget, 
surely,  that  to  give  thee  the  life  thou  didst  crave  meant  that  I 
should  die  instead  of  thee.  I  knew  not  this  when  I  left  thee  alone, 
'tis  true.  I  did  but  follow  the  fair  vision  of  my  Guardian  Angel, 
who  led  me  from  thy  room,  and  that  thou  wert  dead  ere  I  returned 
filled  me  with  remorse  and  sorrow,  until  I  read  the  first  part  of 
the  mystic  scroll.  Then  did  I  see  the  fate  thou  hadst  meant  for 
me,  and  which  engulfed  thyself  instead.  Yet,  Oh  my  once  master, 


172          THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

let  us  forget  the  past,  and  tell  me  whether  there  is  aught  I  can  do 
to  help  thee  now?" 

Jelal-ud-din's  answer  was  a  savage  snarl  like  a  wild  beast's 
as  he  turned  and  wriggled  away  from  us  again,  and  disappeared 
behind  the  broken  fountain. 

The  Spirit  beside  me,  who  was  known  in  the  Spirit  World  by 
the  name  of  Mansur,  touched  me  on  the  arm.  "Behold!"  said 
he,  "Jelal-ud-din  hath  gone  into  his  treasure  house,  there  to 
resume  his  watch  over  the  baubles  which  he  hath  collected  in  his 
Earthly  life,  and  which  he  doth  not  yet  know  to  be  valueless  to 
him  now.  He  thinks  that  thou  art  yet  in  the  body  of  the  flesh, 
for  his  sight,  like  his  other  powers,  is  but  imperfect,  and  he 
fears  that  thou  art  come  to  steal  some  of  his  treasures." 

Then  I  remembered  how  I  had  already  come  and  taken  away 
certain  Parchment  Scrolls,  dreaming  that  the  dead  had  no  longer 
property  in  the  goods  that  once  belonged  to  them,  and  I  resolved 
to  go  to  where  I  had  hidden  them  and  restore  them  to  Jelal-ud-din 
since  he  still  valued  them  so  highly.  My  thought  must  have  been 
read  by  Mansur,  for  he  laughed  derisively  as  he  said : 

"Go  to,  thou  too  honest  thief!  Go  and  look  at  those  hidden 
scrolls,  for  it  is  no  longer  possible  for  thee  to  lift  one  corner  of  the 
very  least  of  them.  Thou  art  in  the  Spirit  body  now,  and  canst 
not  affect  aught  which  is  still  enclosed  in  its  material  shell  as  in 
a  locked  treasure  case." 

"But  to  return  to  Jelal-ud-din.  Tell  me  why  it  is  that  he 
crawls  thus  upon  the  Earth?  Surely  the  reason  is  not  alone 
because  his  life  was  evil?" 

My  companion  laughed  a  mirthless  laugh,  as  he  replied,  "I 
see  that  thou  dost  think  that  I  am  myself  to  the  full  as  evil  as  he 
was,  yet  I  grovel  not  upon  the  Earth.  Even  so.  But  it  is  not 
because  of  his  many  sins  that  he  crawls  thus,  or  else  the  Dark 
Spheres  would  be  peopled  by  human  reptiles.  No.  But  Jelal- 
ud-din  when  he  sought  to  prolong  his  life  far  beyond  the  ordinary 
life  of  man  did  not  know  that  thereby  he  was  imprisoning  his 
Spirit  in  the  mortal  shell  long  after  it  had  grown  too  confined  to 
hold  it.  If  thou  dost  take  a  growing  child  and  place  it  in  a  box 
that  fits  tight  over  all  its  limbs,  so  that  it  can  neither  develop  nor 
make  use  of  its  muscles  for  its  own  support,  then  will  the  body 
of  that  child  become  deformed;  its  muscles  and  its  limbs  will 
wither  away,  and  it  will  either  die  or  become  like  one  stricken 
with  a  palsy,  whose  impotent  limbs  can  in  no  wise  obey  the 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  173 

desires  of  its  mind.  So  hath  it  been  with  Jelal-ud-din.  So  is  it 
with  all  who  seek  ignorantly  to  change  nature's  laws.  By  cling- 
ing to  the  mere  Earthly  shell,  because  it  seemed  to  him  a  means 
of  life,  he  retarded  the  development  of  the  Spirit,  and  so  crippled 
it  that  many  years,  yea,  many  centuries,  must  elapse  ere  it  regains 
the  full  vigor  that  should  belong  to  a  man  endowed  at  first  with 
such  strength  as  was  his.  Look  upon  me!  Behold  my  grey 
hairs,  my  bent  form,  and  know  that  I  also,  when  I  renewed  again 
and  again  my  Earthly  life  made  the  mistake  Jelal-ud-din  did, 
and  it  hath  taken  me  these  many  centuries  of  Spirit  life  to  win 
back  even  the  strength  I  now  possess,  which,  after  all,  is  but  that 
of  an  old  man,  and  wonder  not  that  I  sought  to  destroy  all  traces 
of  that  manuscript  in  which  I  detailed  the  means  which  had  led 
to  mine  own  destruction.  Sin  hath  me  in  her  clutches.  The 
love  of  evil,  the  desire  to  enjoy  still  the  sinful  pleasures  of  mine 
animal  Soul  is  yet  so  strong  in  me  that  I  would  not  exchange  my 
present  lot  for  all  the  pure  joys  of  Paradise,  were  it  possible  that 
its  gates  would  open  to  me  now.  I  have  not  one  desire  in  affinity 
with  the  pure  lives  of  the  Saints  of  Paradise.  The  gulf  between 
us  is  impassable.  Therefore  think  not  that  it  was  with  the 
thought  of  doing  even  one  good  action  that  I  snatched  that  scroll 
from  thine  hand  lest  thou  should  learn  the  secret  it  contained. 
No!  It  was  only  that  I  desired  not  that  the  monstrous  error 
of  supposing  that  to  renew  the  poor  earthly  shell  was  to  endow  the 
immortal  Spirit  ivith  fresh  lije  should  be  any  longer  associated 
with  ME  or  MY  studies.  For  thee  and  for  Jelal-ud-din  I  cared  not. 
The  Dark  Angel,  who  is  my  Master  here,  might  have  led  you  both 
into  the  bottomless  pit  of  destruction  and  I  should  not  have  raised 
one  finger  to  prevent  him.  But  when  he  took  that  misguiding 
scroll  from  the  grave  where  I  deemed  it  hidden  for  ever,  and  sent 
it  forth  to  propagate  AN  ERROR  in  MY  name,  then  was  my  wrath 
aroused,  and  I  rested  not  till  I  had  torn  it  from  thy  keeping. 

"  Let  us  go  hence,"  he  added  after  a  pause.  "  Let  us  go  hence, 
for  as  yet  thou  canst  do  no  good  to  Jelal-ud-din.  Only  time  can 
help  him.  If  thou  hast  any  other  one  thou  dost  desire  to  see, 
think  of  them,  and  thine  own  desire  will  take  us  there." 

Then  I  bethought  me  of  Prince  Ahmed,  who  had  slain  me, 
and  of  the  faithful  friend  Ben  Al  Zulid,  who  had  come  too  late  to 
save  me.  And  lastly  I  thought  of  Zuleika,  and  longed  to  know 
her  fate,  and  whether  she  had  shed  even  one  tear  over  mine 
untimely  end. 


174  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


CHAPTER  VI 

I  FIND  ZULEIKA 

As  Mansur  had  said,  my  thoughts  carried  us  to  Agbatana, 
where  I  beheld  Ahmed  in  all  the  glory  of  his  position  as  King. 
Towards  him  my  feelings  were  not  particularly  bitter.  He  had 
ever  been  an  open  foe,  and  in  my  death  did  but  carry  out  the  policy 
I  had  expected  of  him.  We  had  each  played  our  game  to  gain 
a  throne.  He  had  won  and  I  had  lost — that  was  all.  I  paused 
not  long  with  him.  An  unseen  shadow  I  stood  among  his  throng 
of  courtiers,  and  but  for  the  recollection  of  myself  which  my 
presence  caused  to  some  among  the  crowd,  none  felt  any  con- 
sciousness of  my  presence. 

From  the  Palace  my  thoughts  carried  me  far  away  to  a  small 
fortress  in  the  mountains.  Here  I  found  that  Ben  Al  Zulid  had 
retired,  and  was  spending  the  evening  of  his  life  in  the  calm 
studies  of  a  philosopher,  and  though  my  presence  and  touch  could 
not  make  him  conscious  that  my  Spirit  stood  beside  him  in  very 
fact,  he  nevertheless  seemed  to  feel  that  I  was  somehow  near  him, 
for  he  got  up,  and  looking  half  uneasily  over  his  shoulder  to  where 
I  stood,  said  in  a  low  tone: 

"Strange!  Strange  indeed  is  this  feeling  that  comes  over  me! 
I  could  almost  have  vowed  that  the  Soul  of  my  dead  Master's 
much  loved  son  Ahrinziman  had  returned  to  Earth  again.  Me- 
thought  he  was  here  but  now.  I  had  almost  forgotten  he  was 
dead,  alas!  like  all  whom  I  have  loved." 

He  sighed  deeply  and  turned  again  unto  his  books,  while 
I  glided  from  the  room,  moved  almost  to  tears  by  the  sound  of 
affection  in  his  voice. 

The  image  of  Zuleika  rose  before  me  now,  and  I  soon  found 
that  I  was  entering  the  Palace  of  Parsagherd,  and  floating  towards 
the  haunted  wing. 

As  with  the  house  of  Jelal-ud-din,  this  part  of  the  Palace  wore, 
to  my  Spiritual  eyes,  the  stamp  of  more  than  mere  mortal  ruin 
and  decay.  The  hangings  upon  the  walls  were  ragged  and  stained 
with  blood,  and  bore,  as  pictures  engraved  upon  them  the  scenes 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  175 

of  treachery  and  murder  enacted  within  the  rooms.  The  floors  of 
polished  marble  were  slippery  with  pools  of  blood,  and  deep  holes 
like  pitfalls  seemed  to  gape  on  every  side.  I  crossed  over  to  the 
secret  passage,  and  there  within  it  beheld  Zuleika  sleeping,  clothed 
in  the  black  mantle  which  had  enshrouded  her  in  my  last  vision  in 
Jelal-ud -din's  mirror.  For  I  knew  now,  alas!  that  it  was  she 
whom  I  had  seen  imprisoned  as  in  a  narrow  vault,  tearing  up  the 
ground  with  her  finger  nails,  and  beating  on  the  hard  walls  in 
her  death  agony.  Alas !  And  alas !  I  read  all  the  fearful  story 
as  I  looked  at  the  grim  walls  wherein  her  terrible  struggles  for 
liberty,  her  slow  agony  of  starvation  and  dreadful  death,  were 
all  mirrored.  None  had  guessed  that  she  was  imprisoned  there. 
Few  had  even  missed  her.  And  not  till  Ahmed,  roused  at  last 
from  his  conquests  to  the  memory  of  the  woman  he  had  professed 
to  love,  inquired  for  her,  did  it  at  last  dawn  upon  anyone  that  she 
and  not  some  lost  Spirit  from  the  dark  regions  had  uttered  those 
terrible  shrieks  which  for  days  had  rung  through  the  deserted 
wing  and  penetrated  like  faint  echoes  to  the  other  part.  Then 
when  Ahmed  caused  the  place  to  be  searched  none  knew  the 
secret  of  the  hidden  door.  There  were  no  cries  now  to  guide 
them,  for  the  silence  of  the  place  was  the  silence  of  Death.  Thus 
even  Zuleika 's  body  was  never  found,  and  her  fate  remained  a 
mystery  whose  solution  could  only  be  guessed  by  the  shuddering 
seekers  for  her. 

When  I  entered  the  passage  I  saw  at  the  further  end,  next  the 
door  which  led  to  the  rooms  once  occupied  by  King  Selim,  the 
crumbling  skeleton  of  a  woman,  robed  in  the  ragged  remnants 
of  a  black  mantle,  the  fleshless  hands  still  clutching  at  the  fatal 
door  which  I  had  caused  to  be  walled  up,  little  dreaming  whose 
death  trap  it  was  to  prove.  Near  this  crumbling  Earth-body 
there  lay  the  Spirit  of  Zuleika,  attached  to  it  by  a  fine  thread  of 
magnetic  ether.  Like  the  Earthly  body  it  was  wrapped  in  a  ragged 
robe  of  black,  of  which  it  seemed  the  counterpart.  A  corner  of 
this  robe  was  drawn  over  Zuleika Js  head  and  face,  veiling  it  from 
my  eyes. 

I  drew  near  to  her  with  feelings  of  the  deepest  emotion,  for 
though  as  I  gazed  at  her  crumbling  form  I  knew  that  the  passion- 
ate love  with  which  I  had  once  regarded  her  was  dead,  slain  by 
the  knowledge  of  her  falseness,  it  was  not  possible  to  feel  towards 
her  as  towards  any  other  woman.  The  tie  between  us  had  been 
too  sacred,  too  tender.  No  man  who  has  once  truly  felt  the  holy 


176  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINIZMAN 

emotion  of  a  pure  love  can  ever  regard  with  indifference  the 
woman  who  has  lain  within  his  anus,  and  borne  to  him  the  most 
sacred  relationship  of  all.  Yea,  though  that  woman  may  prove 
as  false  as  sin.  Though  she  may  have  trampled  on  his  affection 
as  on  a  worthless  rag,  and  trifled  with  his  heart  as  a  child  toys 
with  a  plaything.  For  the  man  who  has  once  truly  loved  her 
she  will  ever  be  surrounded  with  the  halo  of  the  infinite  tender- 
ness of  a  love  that  has  no  counterpart  save  in  the  still  purer,  holier 
love  of  a  mother  for  her  child. 

In  mine  anger  when  I  first  knew  of  her  falseness  and  my 
dishonor,  I  could  have  killed  Zuleika  with  mine  own  hand,  but 
even  had  I  done  so  her  death  would  have  filled  me  with  an  infi- 
nite anguish  of  remorse  so  soon  as  ever  the  fatal  deed  had  been 
done.  And  now  as  I  looked  down  upon  her  and  knew  that  she, 
too,  was  dead,  and  by  what  means  she  had  died,  my  heart  was 
torn  by  the  violent  passion  of  anger  and  sorrow.  I  loved  her  no 
longer  as  I  once  had  done.  Could  she  have  risen  before  me  in 
all  the  pure  beauty  of  her  earthly  days  I  should  have  still  drawn 
aloof  from  her,  knowing  her  nature  as  I  knew  it  now.  But  never- 
theless my  heart  was  hot  against  her  murderess,  and  I  could  have 
cried  aloud  with  anguish  when  I  thought  of  her  cruel  sufferings 
ere  she  died.  If  aught  could  have  added  fuel  to  the  fire  of  my 
anger  against  Artemisia  the  sight  of  Zuleika  would  have  done  so, 
and  I  vowed  a  yet  more  fearful  oath  to  sacrifice  all  other  things 
unto  my  purpose  of  Revenge. 

Trembling  with  emotion  I  drew  near  to  Zuleika,  thinking  to 
raise  gently  one  corner  of  the  robe  which  hid  her  face,  that  I  might 
gaze  but  once  again  upon  the  features  so  dear  to  mine  eyes  in  the 
long  past  days  on  Earth.  Ere  I  could  touch  her,  however,  the 
veil  that  shrouded  her  face  became  transparent  as  gauze,  and 
revealed  to  mine  eyes,  not  the  lovely  features  of  my  once  wife, 
but  the  shrunken,  withered  face  of  an  old,  old  woman,  stamped 
with  an  expression  of  vice  and  shame  such  as  one  sees  on  some 
wretched  woman  of  the  streets,  who  hath  sold  herself  for  gold. 

"Ye  Powers!"  I  cried  in  horror,  "is  this  Zuleika's  Spirit  after 
all,  or  have  I  made  some  strange  mistake?" 

Then  I  looked  again,  more  closely,  and  I  saw  that  it  was 
indeed  the  Zuleika  I  had  loved.  The  features  were  the  same,  but 
the  blighting  hand  of  sin  and  treachery  had  rested  on  them,  stamp- 
ing on  them  the  true  impress  of  the  shallow,  sensual  Soul  beneath 
the  once  fair  exterior.  The  expression  was  the  same  as  she  had 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  177 

ever  worn  in  Jelal-ud -din's  mirror,  only  now  there  were  no  charms 
of  feature  to  redeem  its  hideousness. 

I  turned  away,  saddened  at  the  sight,  and  filled  with  my  pas- 
sion against  the  woman  whose  hand  had  helped  to  shed  such  ruin 
around  me. 

I  willed  to  see  her  next,  that  I  might  stand  face  to  face  with 
her  once  more. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  SEA  OF  PASSION;  TEACHINGS  ON  THE  SEPAR- 
ATION OF  SPIRITUAL  SPHERES;  WE  PLOT 
AGAINST  ARTEMISIA 

I  found  myself  standing  at  last  beside  a  lone  sea,  whose  dark 
billows  dashed  furiously  upon  the  mighty  rocks  which  like  a  wall 
of  iron  shut  it  in.  Here  and  there  were  bleak  patches  of  sandy 
shore,  like  barren  resting  places  amidst  a  wilderness  of  jagged 
rocks  and  stormy  waves.  A  furious  hurricane,  whose  hot  breath 
was  like  the  scorching  blast  of  a  sirocco,  seemed  to  rage  there 
eternally,  driving  the  mighty  waters  upon  those  towering  rocks 
with  the  re-echoing  roar  of  thunder,  and  scattering  great  volumes 
of  spray  far  over  the  wild  dark  plains  that  lay  beyond  this  troub- 
lous sea.  Storm  clouds  hovered  overhead,  and  the  fiery  magnetism 
cast  off  from  the  stormy  Souls  of  those  who  had  created  this  scene 
of  passion  rent  the  sky  in  all  directions  with  their  lightning  flashes, 
while  the  deep,  reverberating  roll  of  the  giant  waves  and  wind 
fell  on  the  ear  unceasingly. 

Great  as  is  the  range  of  the  Spiritual  sight  compared  to  that 
of  mortal  life,  it  was  yet  too  limited  to  show  me  the  extent  of  this 
vast  ocean  that  stretched  away  beyond  the  powers  of  even  my 
thoughts  to  follow. 

I  climbed  to  the  highest  point  of  a  lofty  rock  and  looking  along 
the  far-extending  shores  beheld  at  last,  at  an  immense  distance, 
a  solitary  woman's  figure,  that  I  felt,  with  a  sudden  rush  of  savage 
joy,  to  be  that  of  Queen  Artemisia. 

Quick  as  thought  I  sped  towards  her,  but  when  I  came  near 
I  found  that  some  invisible  barrier  through  which  I  could  by  no 
means  pass  separated  me  from  her.  In  vain  I  sought  to  get  nearer; 


178  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

a  wall  of  iron  kept  me  back,  and  no  efforts  of  mine  could  break 
through  it.  Furious  with  rage  I  at  last  gave  up  the  useless  attempt. 
A  mocking  laugh  at  my  side  made  me  turn  round,  to  behold 
Mansur  beside  me. 

" Waste  not  thy  powers  in  useless  efforts,"  said  he,  "for  thou 
art  on  the  confines  of  two  spheres,  and  thou  canst  not  pass  from 
the  one  unto  the  other.  Between  thee  and  Artemisia  there  is  a 
barrier  of  antagonistic  magnetism,  which  to  thy  Spirit  body  is 
even  more  impassable  than  a  wall  of  stone  would  have  been  to 
thy  mortal  envelope.  If  thou  would  st  attack  thine  enemy  it  must 
be  by  other  agency  than  thine  own  hands.  To  do  so  thoij  wilt 
need  the  help  of  those  Beings  whom  the  Dark  Angel  hath  given 
thee  as  servitors,  and  such  knowledge  of  their  attributes  and  the 
laws  which  govern  them  as  I  only  can  give  thee.  Thy  Spiritual 
magnetism  and  Artemisia's  are  as  diametrically  opposite  as  the 
two  poles;  as  antagonistic  as  two  gases  which  can  in  no  wise  blend, 
so  violent  is  the  force  of  their  repulsion.  Neither  of  you  can  by 
any  means  come  again  into  personal  contact  with  the  other,  unless 
you  can  indeed  restore  the  conditions  of  Earth  life.  For  in  the 
Earth  Life  all  spheres  are  mingled,  and  the  gross  materiality  of  the 
Earthly  envelope  enables  those  whose  magnetisms  are  intensely 
antagonistic  to  draw  near  unto  each  other,  even  as  thou  mayest 
imprison  the  two  opposing  chemical  gases  in  separate  vessels  and 
thus  bring  them  into  a  closeness  of  proximity  impossible  to  them 
when  free.  Dost  thou  imagine  that  were  it  possible  for  Artemisia 
to  meet  thee  she  would  not  herself  have  long  since  sought  thee 
out?  On  the  night  when  thou  wert  slain  she  also  died,  from 
poison  administered  by  the  orders  of  Prince  Ahmed.  Unlike 
thee  her  Spirit  was  fully  ripe  for  the  great  change.  She  awoke 
almost  at  once,  as  one  wakes  from  slumber,  and  since  that  hour 
she  has  not  ceased  to  call  upon  thy  name.  She  thirsts  as  much 
or  more  than  thou  for  the  long  deferred  meeting  with  thee,  her 
great  enemy,  and  she  cannot  understand  wherefore  thou  hast  not 
obeyed  her  summons.  She  is  ignorant  of  all  laws  pertaining  unto 
Spiritual  conditions.  Such  studies  have  no  attraction  for  her. 
She  thinks  only  of  what  the  Priests  have  taught  her,  and  cares 
not  to  gain  even  the  most  elementary  knowledge  of  that  state  of 
existence  in  which  she  now  finds  herself.  Behold  her  now,  and 
mark  well  what  fruits  her  crimes  have  borne  for  her,  and  then 
will  I  show  thee  how  thou  mayest  add  yet  another  drop  unto  the 
full  cup  of  her  bitterness." 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  179 

As  he  pointed  to  the  restless  figure  of  the  Queen,  Mansur 
passed  his  hands  slowly  over  my  head,  and  then  it  was  as  though 
a  clearer  measure  of  sight  had  been  given  to  me,  for  I  not  only 
saw  Artemisia  herself,  but  the  multitude  of  Beings  which  thronged 
around  her  every  footstep.  I  heard  moreover  every  word  she 
uttered. 

"Look  now,"  said  Mansur,  "see  how  those  haunting  shapes 
dog  her  footsteps,  each  the  embodiment  of  a  past  crime.  She 
does  not  know  that  they  are  things  of  air,  mere  creatures  of  her 
thoughts,  reflections  thrown  upon  her  own  aura  as  an  image  is 
thrown  upon  the  surface  of  a  mirror.  She  thinks  each  horrid 
shape  is  real;  a  sentient  being  like  herself,  and  knows  not  were 
she  to  turn  and  face  them  calmly,  to  contemplate  them  steadily, 
they  would  melt  like  mist.  See  how  each  angry  vengeful  thought 
hath  shaped  itself  into  a  giant  phantom  in  her  mind.  See 
yonder  Shade  dipping  its  gory  hands  again  and  yet  again  into 
a  deep  pool  of  blood !  Behold,  it  is  but  the  picture  which  memory 
gives  back  of  herself  as  she  sat  beside  thee  in  thy  dying  hour. 
See  yon  crowd  of  Hellish  Imps  that  scream  and  shriek  around 
her;  they  are  the  curses  she  hath  heaped  on  others'  heads,  and 
which  have  now  come  back  to  her.  Each  one  but  repeats  her 
own  words;  each  does  but  embody  her  own  thoughts  when  she 
uttered  them.  Again,  see  yonder  that  white  floating  figure.  Dost 
thou  recognize  it,  with  its  stony  Angel  face  as  of  a  slumbering 
child  and  its  white  robes  dyed  with  the  fast  flowing  blood  from 
the  wounds  in  neck  and  shoulder?  'Tis  the  wraith  of  thy  mur- 
dered Mother.  Nay,  start  not.  The  pure  Soul  is  not  there;  she 
rests  in  Paradise.  That  floating  phantom  is  but  the  last  fading 
remnant  of  the  Astral  shell  cast  off  long  since  by  the  risen  Soul, 
and  only  retained  thus  long  in  its  integrity  by  the  constant  thoughts 
of  Artemisia  herself,  who  can  in  no  wise  free  herself  from  the 
memory  of  her  victim.  She  thinks  it  is  the  Spirit  that  haunts  her, 
and  hath  haunted  her  through  these  many  years.  She  doth  not 
know  that  between  herself  and  the  murdered  Cynthia  there  exists 
an  antagonism  as  great  as  between  herself  and  Cynthia's  son,  and 
that  it  is  therefore  impossible  that  their  Souls  can  ever  meet  in 
the  Spirit  sphere.  She  can  behold  yon  crumbling  Astral  shell 
even  as  she  might  have  beheld  the  poor  Earth  body  she  destroyed, 
but  unless  Cynthia  could  re-clothe  herself  in  an  Earthly  body  Arte- 
misia can  never  again  behold  her  Spirit.  As  for  this  haunting 
shell,  were  only  Artemisia  to  have  courage  enough  to  touch  it  it 


i8o  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

would  crumble  beneath  her  hand,  and  turn  to  ashes  for  the  first 
breeze  to  scatter. 

"  Artemisia  is  alone  by  this  wild  sea.  Naught  haunts  her  but 
her  own  foul  thoughts,  her  own  murderous  deeds.  Yet  in  the 
vividness  with  which  they  are  presented  to  her  eyes  doth  thou 
not  perceive  how  one  who  hath  the  knowledge  of  how  to  create 
such  shapes  may  torment  her  yet  more  sorely?  See  now,  she 
calls  upon  her  son,  her  only  son,  the  one  thing  that  can  awaken 
still  the  tender  emotions  of  her  Soul.  Mark  with  what  frantic 
despair  she  calls  on  him,  realizing  that  even  Death  hath  not 
bridged  over  the  gulf  created  by  Death  between  them.  Canst 
thou  think  of  no  means  here  to  be  revenged  upon  her,  to  make 
her  suffer  even  as  she  hath  made  thee?  Hast  thou  not  felt  that 
even  the  oblivion  of  Death,  the  mere  dropping  of  its  dark  veil 
between  thee  and  the  object  of  thine  affections,  were  a  mercy 
compared  to  the  worse  than  death  which  hath  separated  thee  from 
thy  beloved?  Doth  it  not  then  occur  to  thy  mind  that  thou 
couldst  so  torture  Artemisia  through  these  pictures  that  she  would 
almost  pray  in  her  anguish  to  be  left  rather  to  the  present  uncertain 
knowledge  of  her  son's  fate,  to  the  still  cherished  hope  that  he  is 
in  Paradise?  Thou  canst  do  nothing  to  the  Queen  herself.  Her 
own  state  of  misery  is  too  deep  for  thee  to  add  one  feather's  weight 
unto  the  burden.  But  in  her  thoughts  of  her  son  she  finds  the 
•one  faint  hope  that  yet  glimmers  amidst  the  darkness  of  her 
despair.  On  Earth  she  thought  that  she  would  fain  he  had  gone 
to  Hell,  so  that  she  might  see  him  again.  Now  that  she  herself 
is  here  the  Mother's  Soul  recoils  from  such  a  fate  for  her  adored 
child.  She  would  rather  dwell  here  herself  for  all  eternity  than 
drag  him  down  even  for  one  hour,  and  though  she  calls  thus 
frantically  upon  his  name,  she  does  so  only  in  the  hope  that  a  far- 
off  glimpse  of  him  may  at  last  be  accorded  to  her,  not  with  the 
desire  to  bring  him  into  the  same  condition  as  herself." 

Mansur  drew  closer  to  my  side,  and  clutching  my  arm  as  in  a 
vice,  hissed  into  mine  ears: 

"Dost  thou  not  understand  me  yet?  Art  thou  so  dull  of 
thought  as  not  to  see  that  thou  canst  slay  even  this  one  hope,  this 
one  faint  alleviation  of  Artemisia's  lot  by  casting  thy  spells  upon 
her?  I  will  even  show  thee  how  it  may  be  done,  and  how  thou 
mayest  drive  her  to  despair  beside  which  her  present  state  were 
as  Paradise." 

The  fierce  cruelty  of  this  Spirit's  look  and  voice  appalled  me 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  181 

as  he  whispered  his  suggestions  in  mine  ears.  Yet  was  mine 
own  anger  against  the  Queen  so  deep  that  even  while  I  shuddered 
at  the  suggestions  of  the  Dark  Spirit  I  yet  felt  loth  to  refuse  his  aid. 

As  before,  he  must  have  read  my  thoughts,  for  with  a  bitter 
sneer  he  said : 

"Thou  art  a  pretty  one  to  vow  vengeance  against  thine 
enemy,  and  then  when  the  way  is  shown  to  Xhee  shrink  like  a 
timid  babe  because  its  darkness  appall s  thee!  Wander  through 
these  realms  and  see  What  pity  they  who  reign  here  show  to  one 
another,  and  then  ask  thyself  if  thou  art  fit  to  k>rd  it  over  Hell's 
Dark  Spirits?  He  who  would  reign  here  must  leave  Remorse 
behind,  must  part  with  the  last  lingering  shadow  of  compunction, 
or  his  weakness  will  cause  him  to  be  hurled  under  foot  and  tram- 
pled down  like  the  wretched  slaves  whom  thou  shalt  see  thick  as 
leaves  in  Autumn,  cumbering  the  ground  on  every  side,  and  serv- 
ing like  beasts  of  burden  those  whose  stupendous  wickedness  hath 
raised  them  above  all  lesser  sinners! 

"Come,  return  with  me  now  unto  the  sphere  in  which  thou 
wert  before,  and  I  will  show  thee  what  manner  of  servants  the 
Dark  Angel  hath  given  thee." 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE  VENGEANCE  PACK  OF  INFERNO;  HOW  TO 
DOMINATE  THEM;  INTELLIGENCE  RULES  IN 
HELL  AS  WELL  AS  IN  HEAVEN;  HOW  ASTRAL 
SPRITES  AFFECT  HUMANITY;  DISEASE  POISONS 

Under  the  guidance  of  Mansur  I  soon  found  myself  again  on 
the  spot  where  I  had  had  my  interview  with  the  Dark  Angel.  At 
the  command  of  my  fiendish  guide  the  strange  and  fearful  crea- 
tures who  were  to  serve  as  instruments  of  my  vengeance  gathered 
from  all  directions  and  clustered  around  us  once  more. 

Some  were  like  unto  the  dragons  of  fable,  whose  huge  bodies 
were  like  the  combination  of  several  monstrous  reptiles.  Others 
were  like  wolves,  and  horrible  mixtures  of  more  than  one  species 


182  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

of  ferocious  beasts.  Horrible  vultures  of  gigantic  size  swooped 
down  to  join  the  throng.  All  the  most  loathsome  creatures  known 
on  Earth  were  reproduced  here,  with  still  more  repulsive  blending 
of  the  evil  qualities  of  each.  There  were  some  creatures  like  unto 
black  cats  in  the  shape  of  the  bodies,  yet  with  flat,  wide  heads  and 
two  enormous  teeth  like  tusks  which  projected  from  either  jaw, 
while  the  small  teeth  were  sharp  and  jagged  like  the  teeth  of  a  saw, 
and  they  had  claws  of  extraordinary  size  and  sharpness.  I  could 
well  fancy  these  creatures  tearing  their  prey  to  pieces  in  the  most 
horrible  manner- with  such  teeth  and  claws.  They  attracted  my 
attention  especially  because  there  were  so  many  of  them,  and 
because  they  hung  around  me  more  closely  than  did  any  of  the 
other  distorted  representations  of  animal  life  on  Earth. 

These  Astral  animals  and  birds  seemed  a  distinct  and  almost 
material  class  in  themselves.  The  semi-human  impish  looking 
creatures  which  I  have  described  as  being  the  creations  of  the 
passions  of  men's  Animal  Souls  came  next  in  order.  Then  there 
were  low,  Earth-bound  Spirits  who  were  distinctly  human,  and 
who  had  lived  an  Earth  life  of  much  evil  and  degradation,  but 
who,  because  of  the  fact  that  they  possessed  Souls,  were  of  a 
degree  of  intelligence  far  beyond  the  other  Soulless  creatures. 
Some  of  these  unfortunate  Earth-bound  Spirits  were,  however, 
of  so  very  low  a  type  of  human  life,  so  slightly  developed  in  intel- 
lect, that  it  required  a  fine  perception  to  distinguish  between 
them  and  those  who  were  semi-human  and  Soulless. 

Above  this  class  of  Earth-bound  Spirits  I  saw  others,  far 
superior  in  their  intellectual  development,  far  more  unmistakably 
responsible  individuals,  but  who  were  of  so  repulsively  evil  a  type 
of  wickedness  that  it  was  impossible  not  to  shrink  from  all 
approach  to  contact  with  them.  Despite  the  savage,  bestial  expres- 
sion on  their  faces,  despite  the  horrible  resemblance  they  bore  in 
action,  and  even  in  some  cases  in  feature,  to  the  wild  beasts 
around  me,  I  knew  that  these  were  indeed  the  Spirits  of  men  and, 
alas!  of  women,  for  there  were  among  them  some  hideous 
travesties  of  womanhood.  That  they  were  born  as  the  offspring 
of  lives  of  the  most  revolting  cruelty  and  wickedness  on  Earth, 
and  that  the  higher  faculties  of  their  Souls  should  be  literally 
still  in  the  germ  state,  only  made  the  sight  of  them  the  more 
terrible,  since  immense  periods  of  time  must  of  necessity  elapse 
ere  those  undeveloped  seeds  of  good  within  their  Souls  would 
begin  to  grow. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  183 

As  Mansur  pointed  them  out  to  me  he  said:  " Behold  those 
Beings  whose  cowardly  cruelty  makes  of  them  the  most  abject 
and  yet  the  most  dangerous  of  thy  slaves !  If  thou  would  st  domi- 
nate them  thou  must  possess  the  most  unceasing  watchfulness, 
the  most  relentless  determination;  and  should  they  hesitate  to 
obey  thee  thou  must  at  once  consign  them  to  the  most  cruel 
punishments  at  the  hands  of  their  savage  fellows.  If  thou  dost 
show  to  them  one  atom  of  pity  they  will  cease  to  fear  thee,  and 
will  turn  to  rend  thee  in  pieces  at  the  first  chance.  Remember, 
that  in  this  sphere  their  strength  of  body  is  ever  greater  than 
thine,  because  they  possess  a  more  dense  degree  of  materiality 
than  thou.  This  is  their  sphere,  and  thou  art  in  a  manner  an 
intruder.  If  thou  art  to  reign  here  it  must  be  by  the  force  of  thy 
will,  the  power  of  thine  intellect,  the  degree  of  thy  knowledge  of 
Spiritual  laws,  not  by  mere  brute  force,  for  the  strength  of  such 
Beings  as  those  around  thee  is  stupendous!  Were  they  once 
freed  from  the  restraint  that  is  ever  exercised  over  them  in  Spirit 
life  by  the  higher  intelligences,  these  Beings  possess  a  strength 
sufficient  to  destroy  all  the  forms  of  life  on  Earth  which  are 
higher  than  themselves.  At  present  they  may  be  said  to  be 
imprisoned  in  the  limits  of  this  sphere,  and  amongst  creatures 
of  their  own  kind.  To  enable  them  to  act  upon  the  inhabitants 
of  any  other  sphere,  or  to  affect  the  material  things  of  Earth  life, 
it  is  necessary  that  they  be  brought  under  the  influence  of  the  will 
of  some  Spirit  or  Mortal  strong  enough  and  intelligent  enough 
to  counteract  the  will  force  which  now  holds  them  in  bondage. 
Once  they  are  fully  dominated  by  some  powerful  Spirit,  either 
in  or  out  of  the  flesh,  they  can  be  used  like  a  mass  of  puppets, 
and  when  they  are  brought  into  contact  with  certain  magnetic 
conditions  in  Earth  life  they  possess  a  force  sufficient  to  enable 
them  to  move  large  obstructions  as  one  would  lift  a  feather. 

"Their  magnetism  may  be  said  to  resemble  a  powerful  explo- 
sive gas,  whose  expansive  force  can  shatter  the  strongest  masonry, 
and  the  pressure  they  can  bring  to  bear  upon  the  mortal  envelope 
of  man  would  be  great  enough  to  crush  his  Earthly  body  into  a 
shapeless  mass,  as  though  the  chariot  wheels  of  the  great  God  of 
Thunder  had  passed  over  it. 

"With  Jelal-ud-din  thou  didst  see  somewhat  ot  the  powerful 
nature  of  certain  chemical  fumes  that  he  distilled,  but  thou  canst 
but  faintly  conceive  as  yet  of  the  vastness  of  the  hidden  powers 
in  nature,  and  still  less  canst  thou  realize  that,  compared  with  the 


184  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

powers  possessed  by  Spiritual  nature,  those  of  the  material  Earth 
are  but  as  children's  playthings.  In  all  the  wondrous  tales  told 
of  the  miraculous  things  which  have  been  wrought  by  the  power 
of  Magic  the  basis  of  the  power  called  into  action  was  this  influ- 
ence of  the  master  mind  of  the  magician  upon  these  almost 
material  Astral  Beings.  Under  the  controlling  will  of  their 
Master  they  did  mighty  works,  transporting  objects  to  a  great 
distance,  or  acting  as  a  destroying  force  upon  some  enemy. 
Most  often  their  aid  has  been  invoked  solely  for  purposes  of  evil, 
for  as  a  rule  those  who  sought  their  aid  did  so  in  order  to  grasp 
at  boundless  power,  and  minister  to* their  all-absorbing  ambition. 
Yet  there  is  no  reason  why  their  services  should  not  be  made  use 
of  for  good  as  well  as  for  evil,  save  that,  drawing  such  a  force  as 
this  around  a  mortal  brings  up  from  the  dark  depths  of  the  infer- 
nal regions  a  countless  host  of  kindred  Spirits,  whose  influence  it 
is  difficult  to  shake  off  again.  When  I  tell  thee  that  these  Beings 
are  dominated  by  the  wills  of  the  higher  intelligences  I  mean  not 
alone  that  higher  intelligence  which  is  devoted  to  goodness  and 
purity.  Evil  is  in  all  respects  as  powerful  as  Good.  The  HIGHER 
DEGREE  of  knowledge  and  intellectual  power  belongs  to  Evil  as 
much  as  to  Good,  and  the  mind  can  travel  as  far  and  as  fast  in 
the  one  direction  as  in  the  other  during  its  pursuit  of  knowledge. 
Do  I  not  know  this  only  too  well!  But  as  the  nature  of  these 
particular  classes  of  Astral  Beings  is  essentially  evil,  it  follows 
that  they  are  more  often  controlled  by  the  evil  intelligences  with 
whom  they  are  in  affinity  than  by  the  Good,  to  whom  they  are 
antagonistic." 

"What  then,"  I  asked,  ''protects  man  on  Earth  from  these 
Beings,  since  thou  doth  suggest  they  have  the  power  to  affect 
material  things?" 

"I  said  unto  thee  that  UNDER  CERTAIN  CONDITIONS  they  had 
the  power.  That  is  to  say,  they  have  it  when  there  is  a  mortal 
brought  into  proximity  to  them  in  whose  aura  they  find  the  highly 
magnetic  essence  of  which  I  told  thee  before,  an  essence  which 
supplies  to  them  the  link  betweeen  the  materiality  of  man  and 
their  own  state,  that  subtle  form  of  ether  which,  as  I  said  unto  thee, 
serves  to  hold  in  combination  the  material  atoms  of  the  human 
body,  and  which,  when  it  surrounds  these  beings,  gives  to  them 
for  the  moment  almost  the  density  of  mortals,  so  that  they  can 
bring  their  extraordinary  magnetic  power  to  bear  upon  mortal 
things.  Thou  thyself  possessed  this  subtle  essence  in  thine  Earth 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  185 

life,  and  in  its  spiritualised  form  it  is  in  thine  aura  now.  It  is  a 
power  whose  use  thou  dost  not  dream  of  yet,  but  which  can  serve 
thee  in  Spirit  life  even  as  it  would  have  served  thee  on  Earth 
hadst  thou  but  known  how  to  use  it.  It  was  because  the  essence 
was  present  with  thee  that  thou  didst  see  the  hands  and  faces, 
the  figures  even,  of  the  strange  creatures  which  hovered  around 
thee  and  Jelal-ud-din  during  thy  studies,  and  it  is  those  mortals 
who  possess  this  magnetic  aura  who  have  most  to  fear  from  the 
proximity  of  these  Astrals." 

"But,"  said  I,  "doth  not  the  fact  that  the  aspirations  of  man- 
kind are  towards  Good  rather  than  Evil,  so  that  the  preponder- 
ating influences  around  man  tend  to  good,  serve  to  protect  him 
in  a  measure  from  evil?  " 

"Yea,  thou  art  right,"  replied  Mansur,  "yet  Evil  is  still  a 
mighty  power  upon  the  Earth,  and  when  thou  hast  steeped  thy 
Soul  deep  in  its  pleasures,  how  hard  it  is  to  shake  it  off!  How 
difficult  to  rise  to  higher  things!  How  bald  and  tame  seem  the 
joys  of  the  pure  and  good ! " 

He  sighed,  and  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  perhaps  after 
all  he  was  not  so  far  as  he  imagined  from  all  appreciation  of  those 
purer  joys.  Then  the  softer  mood  passed,  and  he  turned  to  me 
again  with  the  zest  of  a  true  teacher  in  expounding  his  views  unto 
an  eager  pupil,  and  continued  his  discourse. 

"Now  that  thou  hast  seen  these  Beings  thou  wilt  not  wonder 
that  in  calling  such  unto  their  aid  the  daring  mortals  who  have 
sought  to  subjugate  them  are  so  often  themselves  destroyed  by 
the  very  force  they  have  called  up.  He  whose  will  releases  these 
Spirits  from  their  bondage  to  the  higher  intelligences,  in  order 
that  they  may  become  the  unseen  tools  with  which  he  wreaks  his 
animosity  upon  a  fellow  mortal,  is  apt  to  forget  that  he  hath 
created  a  link  between  himself  and  these  Astral  Beings  which  he 
may  be  afterwards  powerless  to  sever.  Do  you  see  how  the 
restless  throng  are  chafing  already  at  the  restraint  put  upon  them? 
How  they  long  to  be  at  some  Hellish  work  again!  Mark  those 
great  bags,  like  huge  black  spiders'  webs,  that  some  of  them  carry. 
See,  I  will  suffer  them  to  follow  out  the  thought  which  hath  come 
unto  their  minds." 

Mansur  waved  his  hand,  and  instantly  the  dark  throng  of 
human  and  semi-human  Beings  rushed  upon  the  hideous  animals 
around  them,  and  despite  their  teeth  and  claws  thrust  a  number 
of  them  into  the  great  nets.  Then,  amidst  much  yelling  and 


186  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

quarrelling  they  made  a  ring,  and  tumbling  the  savage  creatures 
out  of  the  bags  pell-mell  on  the  top  of  each  other,  prodded  and 
buffeted  them  till  the  whole  angry  mass  were  tearing  each  other 
to  pieces  like  a  lot  of  hungry  rats  and  wolves.  As  the  creatures 
tore  at  one  another  the  most  frightful  vapor  arose,  the  most  sicken- 
ing odour,  the  most  poisonous  stench  possible  to  imagine.  I  felt 
myself  becoming  stifled,  and  looked  at  Mansur  to  see  whether 
he  was  playing  some  diabolical  trick  upon  me.  But  he  drew 
from  his  robe  a  long  slender  wand,  and  waving  it  slowly  before 
us  created  a  wind  which  blew  the  poisonous  stench  away. 

"It  is  as  well  that  thou  hast  smelt  that  sweet  savour,"  said  he, 
"because  now  thou  canst  judge  how  deadly  unto  the  Spirit  is  the 
magnetism  thrown  off  from  these  creatures.  Thou  canst  under- 
stand how  a  sensitive  mortal  exposed  to  their  subtle  influence 
would  sicken  and  die,  none  could  tell  wherefore,  because  no 
mortal  sense  is  keen  enough  to  detect  this  poison.  Thou  hast 
heard  that  poison  can  be  dropped  into  the  heart  of  a  rose,  so  that 
the  scent  of  the  flower  shall  hide  the  death-giving  odour,  and  the 
fair  beauty  of  the  flower  tempt  the  victim  to  wear  it. 

"The  most  subtile  poisons  are  the  most  deadly,  and  it  is  these 
poisons  which  act  directly  on  the  Spirit.  The  Earthly  envelope 
is  designed  as  a  shield  to  the  Spirit  in  the  Earth  life,  even  as  the 
more  Spiritual  bodies  of  the  succeeding  stages  protect  the  Soul 
in  those  more  advanced  conditions  of  its  existence.  If  then  the 
Earthly  envelope  be  so  far  penetrated  by  the  Spirit  that  an 
abnormal  degree  of  sensitiveness  is  experienced,  it  stands  to 
reason  that  this  thinner  envelope  leaves  the  Spirit  exposed  to  the 
action  of  these  subtile  influences,  and  liable  to  be  injured  by  them 
to  an  extent  from  which  the  more  grossly  enveloped  Spirit  is  pro- 
tected. The  poison  of  disease  cannot  be  detected  by  the  power 
of  sight,  yet  it  is  none  the  less  present  in  the  atmosphere,  and  as 
with  increasing  knowledge  upon  Earth  men  will  be  able  to  detect 
the  approach  of  the  destroying  pestilence,  so  with  a  more  univer- 
sal knowledge  of  magnetic  laws  men  will  become  at  last  able  to 
detect  the  approach  of  those  more  subtle  poisons  which  produce 
the  Spiritual  pestilences  by  infusing  their  deadly  vapors  into  the 
atmosphere  of  Spiritual  life." 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  187 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  PLOT  UNFOLDED;  WE  VISIT  SELIM;  SUFFERING 
FOR  THE  SINS  OF  A  MOTHER 

"And  how  dost  thou  intend  to  use  these  creatures  for  the 
furtherance  of  thy  plans  against  Artemisia?"  said  I1  to  Mansur 
at  last,  for  in  his  delight  at  finding  one  who  took  an  interest  in 
his  discourse  he  seemed  to  have  forgotten  all  but  the  scientific 
aspect  of  the  subject. 

As  my  question  recalled  him  to  the  original  purpose  of  our 
meeting  the  dark,  fiendish  expression  passed  again  over  his  face, 
and  with  a  low  chuckle  of  diabolical  cunning  he  said: 

"Artemisia  hath  escaped  all  knowledge  of  this  sphere — the 
Astral  circle  of  the  Earth  plane — because  she  hath  sunk  to  one 
below  it,  as  thou  also  wouldst  have  done  had  it  not  been  that  in 
thine  Earthly  life  thou  didst  form  many  links  between  this  sphere 
and  thyself.  We  cannot  take  these  companions  around  us  to  the 
Queen,  and  thus  cheer  her  solitary  hours  with  their  sportive 
gambols!  But  Selim  is  yet  within  the  confines  of  this  sphere. 
He  hovers  around  the  Earth  plane,  and  we  can  visit  him.  Thou 
hast  much  influence  over  him,  for  in  thine  Earth  lives  it  was  well 
established.  Moreover,  ye  are  the  offspring  of  one  father,  and 
between  you  there  is  not  so  great  a  measure  of  antagonism  as 
between  thee  and  Artemisia.  She  hath  escaped  our  clutches, 
but  her  son  is  here  and  we  can  visit  him.  He  is  in  our  power. 
Thou  canst  surround  him  with  all  the  horrors  which  the  hellish 
creatures  beside  us  can  wreak  upon  their  victims.  Thou  canst 
paralyse  his  will  with  the  strong  force  of  thine  own,  which  could 
ever  dominate  his.  Thou  canst  give  him  over  as  a  helpless  cap- 
tive into  the  hands  of  these  beings  around  us,  and  of  a  surety  'twill 
be  fine  sport  to  see  what  they  will  do  unto  him !  Then  through 
him  thou  canst  project  unto  Artemisia  the  knowledge  of  his  con- 
dition; his  thoughts  will  reach  her  though  thine  cannot.  If  thou 
dost  direct  the  thoughts  of  Selim  unto  his  mother,  and  will  that 
he  desires  her  to  behold  his  state,  then  will  the  picture  of  Selim 
be  thrown  upon  the  mirror-like  atmosphere  around  her,  and 


i88  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

appear  as  real  to  her  eyes,  as  objective  and  as  near  as  do  her  own 
thoughts,  which  at  present  fill  all  her  mental  horizon.  Through 
Selim  she  will  behold  thee,  and  will  learn  that  thou  hast  him  in 
thy  clutches,  while  she  herself  is  powerless  to  aid  him  in  any  way. 
Dost  thou  not  think  it  is  a  pretty  scheme?  Doth  it  not  seem  to 
thee  that  thou  wilt  extract  a  far  keener  anguish  from  Artemisia 
by  torturing  her  son  than  if  thou  could st  touch  herself?  For  her- 
self, she  would  defy  thee!  Her  Spirit  is  as  courageous  and  as 
dauntless  as  thine  own,  woman  though  she  bel  But  when  thou 
doth  touch  her  son  she  will  have  no  power  to  do  aught;  her  Spirit 
will  be  broken,  and  she  will  sue  to  thee  for  mercy  like  the  veriest 
slave.  There  will  be  no  depths  of  humiliation  to  which  thou 
canst  not  reduce  her,  if  only  thou  dost  secure  her  son,  her  only 
son!" 

He  spoke  in  such  a  tone  of  savage,  exultant  triumph  that  I 
recoiled  involuntarily  from  him,  even  while  I  ground  my  teeth  in 
rage  and  nodded  my  acquiescence  in  his  plans,  for  I  could  not  but 
remember  that  Selim  was  the  man  who  had  dishonored  me,  and 
repaid  my  services  with  the  blackest  treachery. 

" Selim  is  but  a  poor  creature,"  said  Mansur,  "a  foe  scarce 
worthy  of  our  spears,  yet  is  the  wrong  he  hath  done  thee  a  bitter 
one  indeed.  The  conditions  of  his  Earth  life  made  him  a  King, 
yet  in  the  Spirit  World  he  is  little  more  than  a  precocious  child, 
weak  minded  and  of  evil  tendences.  Between  his  parents  there 
was  no  real  affinity,  no  Spiritual  union.  The  attraction  exercised 
by  each  was  merely  that  of  their  animal  Souls;  therefore  in  their 
son  thou  dost  behold  only  the  transmission  of  the  lower  qualities 
of  the  parents,  while  the  lack  of  true  affinity  causes  Selim  to  be 
like  an  ill-constructed  harp,  not  one  of  whose  strings  canst  thou 
bring  into  tuneful  harmony  with  another.  Thou  canst  not  blend 
his  qualities  so  that  they  make  a  perfect  whole.  One  contradicts 
another  continually,  even  as  between  the  higher  natures  of  the 
parents  there  was  continual  friction,  though  the  glamour  which 
was  cast  over  both  by  the  purely  magnetic  attraction  of  their 
animal  Souls  prevented  them  at  first  from  feeling  this.  Had 
the  inharmony  of  relation  between  the  parents  been  but  a  few 
degrees  greater  Selim  would  have  been  an  idiot.  As  it  is  he  had 
enough  sense  to  pass  for  an  intelligent  responsible  Being  in  the 
eyes  of  those  whose  interest  it  was  to  be  indulgent  to  his  failings. 
Behold  him  now,  stripped  of  all  the  false  glitter  of  Royalty  and 
dependent  upon  himself  for  the  surroundings  he  creates." 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  189 

Mansur  pointed  to  a  flickering  spark  of  light  at  an  immense 
distance  from  us,  and  by  steadily  watching  it  I  saw  at  last  that  it 
illuminated  a  minute  picture  of  the  Palace  of  Parsagherd  and  the 
rooms  occupied  by  Selim.  Presently  the  picture  grew  clearer,  as 
though  a  strong  glass  reflected  it  to  me,  and  I  perceived  that  to 
Selim's  eyes  it  bore  the  same  appearance  as  in  his  Earth  life,  save 
that  the  furniture,  the  walls,  and  hangings,  all  looked  cracked  and 
stained  with  muddy  patches  and  torn.  In  the  centre  sat  Selim 
himself,  on  a  throne  he  had  built  for  himself  from  the  fragments 
of  a  larger  one  which  lay  scattered  about  as  though  by  an  earth- 
quake shock.  The  crown  upon  his  head  and  the  gold  of  his  orna- 
ments were  tarnished  like  his  honor,  and  his  robes  were  soiled 
and  draggled  like  the  once  purity  of  his  Soul.  He  himself  pre- 
sented a  curious  appearance,  for  in  stature  and  face  he  was  like  a 
child,  though  his  body  was  bent  and  his  countenance  furrowed 
like  those  of  an  aged  man.  The  feeble  yet  vicious  expression 
of  his  mouth,  with  its  full  red  lips  half  open  and  the  weak  chin 
covered  by  a  few  thin,  straggling  hairs  in  place  of  his  once  luxuri- 
ant beard,  added  yet  another  touch  to  the  general  picture  he 
presented  of  weak  minded  vanity. 

Behind  him  there  lurked  the  hideous  figure  of  the  black  slave 
from  whose  obsessing  Spirit  I  had  S9iight  to  free  him  on  Earth. 
The  expression  of  this  Spirit  was  savage  to  the  last  degree,  and 
he  appeared  to  spend  his  time  crawling  backwards  and  forwards 
through  the  fatal  secret  passage,  as  though  unable  to  withdraw 
himself  from  its  attraction. 

Around  Selim  himself  I  saw  a  great  many  dark  figures,  whose 
forms  much  resembled  those  of  the  Genii  I  had  beheld  in  the 
mystic  valley;  and  mingling  with  them  were  certain  Spirits  of  a  low 
type  who  seemed  to  have  been  slaves  in  Earth  life,  and  who 
were  now  attracted  to  the  Court  and  waited  upon  Selim  under 
the  confused  impression  that  they  were  still  in  their  Earthly 
bodies.  These  last  Spirits  he  seemed  to  see,  but  to  the  presence 
of  the  others  he  was  oblivious. 

" Behold,"  said  Mansur,  "in  Earth  life  Artemisia  drew  around 
her  by  her  angry,  vengeful  thoughts  a  whole  host  of  dark  Spirits 
whose  influence  shadowed  her  son  even  from  his  cradle.  They 
gathered  around  him  and  sucked  away  his  Spiritual  life,  so  that 
the  Spirit  body  grew  stunted  and  feeble,  and  even  the  Earthly 
envelope  suffered  in  sympathy  and  became  feeble  and  ailing. 
They  instilled  foul  thoughts  into  his  mind,  and  they  used  his 


190          THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

body  as  a  medium  whereby  they  could  enjoy  over  again  those 
material  pleasures  for  which  they  still  craved.  Thus  was  the 
private  life  of  King  Selim  one  of  much  degradation  and  shame 
without  the  Spirit  of  Selim  himself  being  conscious  of  it. 

"To  use  the  body  thus  it  is  needful  to  dispossess  the  rightful 
Spirit,  which  is  thus  left  in  an  unconscious  state  in  close  prox- 
imity to  its  envelope,  as  thou  dost  already  know.  Had  Selim 
been  a  conscious  participator  in  the  iniquities  wrought  by  the  agency 
of  his  Earth  body  his  state  now  would  be  akin  to  that  of  the  dark 
Spirits  around  us.  As  it  was  he  suffered  in  the  enfeebled  con- 
dition of  his  body  for  the  use  thus  made  of  it  without  knowing 
to  what  agency  it  was  due.  In  Spirit  life  he  hath  but  the  develop- 
ment of  a  child,  yet  is  his  Spirit  body  worn  and  aged  by  the  vices 
of  the  man.  Time  will  equalize  all  things,  and  will  give  to  him 
the  growth  of  his  Spirit  into  manhood.  Then  will  it  be  for  him 
to  use  his  powers  for  his  own  elevation  or  degradation,  as  the 
temper  of  his  mind  shall  incline  him. 

"Call  him  unto  thee  now.  Draw  him  unto  this  sphere  that 
thou  mayest  show  him  how  richly  thou  canst  recompense  him 
for  all  the  favors  he  showered  on  thee,  and  on  thy  WIFE  !" 

Mansur  laughed  again  and  again  as  he  said  this,  with  a  scorn- 
ful glee  that  so  maddened  me  I  could  have  struck  him  to  the 
earth  had  he  not  withdrawn  from  me  even  as  he  uttered  his 
sneer  at  the  mention  of  my  wife,  and  though  my  contempt  for 
Selim  had  well  nigh  extinguished  my  anger  against  him  the  words 
of  Mansur  kindled  my  passion  once  more  to  fever  heat,  and  I 
called  aloud  upon  the  wretched  Selim  to  come  unto  me  with  all 
speed. 

Thrice  I  called,  and  ere  the  summons  was  well  repeated  for 
the  third  time  I  beheld  Selim  at  my  side. 

Bewildered  at  thus  suddenly  finding  himself  in  my  presence, 
and  uneasy  at  the  recollection  of  his  own  treachery  towards  me, 
the  wretched  Selim  addressed  me  in  trembling  querulous  tones, 
into  which  he  tried  in  vain  to  infuse  a  little  of  his  old  royal  dig- 
nity, and  asked  why  I  should  have  summoned  him  thus. 

"Thou  mayest  well  ask  that,  thou  miserable  semblance  of  a 
man,"  replied  I  scornfully.  "Thou  mayest  well  wonder  why  I 
should  desire  the  presence  of  so  poor  a  worm  of  Earth  as  thou, 
thou  false  viper,  who  couldst  even  turn  to  sting  the  hand  stretched 
forth  to  rescue  thee!  It  may  be  that  thou  hast  even  forgotten 
that  from  so  contemptible  a  dog  it  was  possible  I  would  demand 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  1.91 

a  reckoning  when  the  day  of  our  reckoning  at  last  should  come. 
Dost  thou  imagine  that  I  have  forgotten  one  tittle  of  the  wrongs 
inflicted  on  me  by  thee,  and  yet  more  foully  by  thy  mother 
Artemisia?" 

As  I  uttered  the  Queen's  name  I  suddenly  beheld  her  image 
before  me  reflected  in  the  air,  even  as  one  beholds  a  mirage  in  the 
desert,  though  the  scene  reflected  may  be  far  away.  I  not  only 
saw  this  reflection  of  Artemisia  but  I  saw  pictured  beside  her 
the  reflections  of  myself  and  Selim.  She  had  pushed  back  the 
long  wild  black  locks  of  her  disheveled  hair  with  one  hand,  and 
with  the  other  she  shaded  her  eyes  as  she  looked  fixedly  at  my 
reflection.  That  of  Selim  was  as  yet  so  faint  and  dim  by  reason 
of  his  thoughts  not  being  yet  fully  concentrated  upon  her  that 
she  did  not  perceive  him.  Me  she  addressed  in  tones  of  savage 
hate,  saying  "Is  this  indeed  thou,  Ahrinziman?  Thou  illicit 
spawn  of  a  miserable  Greek  slave,  who  didst  deem,  forsooth, 
that  thou  wert  fit  to  be  a  King !  Art  thou  come  at  last  in  answer 
to  my  calls  for  thee?" 

"Yea,  Oh  Woman!  I  am  come  at  last  to  settle  the  great 
debt  between  us.  Let  not  thy  foul  lips  utter  the  name  of  mine 
Angel  Mother,  slain  by  thee,  lest  thou  shouldst  add  another  drop 
unto  the  cup  of  my  wrath,  too  full  already,  and  of  whose  bitter- 
ness thou  shalt  drink  even  to  the  last  dregs  in  a  fashion  thou 
dost  little  dream  of  yet.  Hath  it  not  been  said  of  old  that  thou 
shalt  demand  an  eye  for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a  tooth?  But  I  say 
to  thee  that  thou  shalt  repay  me  with  thy  sufferings  an  hundred 
fold  for  all  that  thou  hast  made  me  and  mine  suffer.  Think  of 
my  tender  Mother  and  her  cruel  death!  Think  of  Zuleika, 
sacrificed  to  thy  malice,  and  to  the  passion  of  thy  son!  Think 
of  the  slow  agony  of  her  death  as  hour  by  hour  hope  died  within 
her  heart,  and  the  fierce  pangs  of  hunger  and  despair  destroyed 
inch  by  inch  her  mortal  life!  Think  of  the  horror  of  such  a 
death,  and  marvel  not  that  since  thou  art  beyond  my  powers  of 
vengeance  I  should  take  it  from  thy  son.  Behold  he  is  here. 
I  have  summoned  his  Spirit  unto  me,  and  I  show  him  to  thee 
now  that  thou  mayest  see  his  sufferings,  while  thou  art  as  pow- 
erless to  save  him  one  pang  as  I  was  to  save  one  of  thy  victims. 
Behold,  thus  do  I  let  loose  the  powers  of  this  dark  sphere  upon 
thy  son." 

I  waved  my  hand  towards  the  wretched  Selim,  and  like  a 
pack  of  wild  beasts  the  whole  savage  multitude  rushed  upon 


192  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINRIMAN 

him  and  attacked  him  with  teeth  and  claws  and  hands,  human 
and  inhuman  monsters  alike  eager  to  tear  him  to  pieces. 

But  it  was  not  my  purpose  to  so  quickly  end  the  scene.  I 
desired  to  prolong  the  agony  of  Artemisia  and  her  son,  and  ere 
they  had  done  more  than  wound  Selim's  Spirit  I  forced  the 
savage  creatures  to  retire  again,  bidding  the  low  cruel  Spirits 
that  were  human  once  to  approach  him  one  by  one  and  amuse 
themselves  with  him,  even  as  a  cat  plays  with  a  mouse.  As  for 
Selim,  he  lay  upon  the  ground  in  a  helpless  agony  of  fear,  uttering 
cries  unto  his  mother,  whom  he  now  thought  he  saw  beside  him, 
to  save  him. 

Then  I  saw  Artemisia  striving  to  break  through  the  wall 
between  us,  even  as  I  had  once  striven  to  break  through  to 
her,  and  when  at  last  she  realized  that  she  was  powerless  to 
reach  us  she  gave  utterance  to  a  cry  of  such  supreme  anguish, 
such  intense  despair,  that  I  wavered  in  my  fell  purpose,  and 
almost  involuntarily  arrested  the  advance  of  those  who  were 
torturing  Selim. 

The  sacredness  of  the  Mother's  love,  the  sufferings  through 
which  a  woman  gives  birth  unto  her  child,  the  Divinity  of  that 
holy  tie,  all  rose  up  before  my  mental  vision  and  forbade  me  to 
torture  a  Mother  through  the  tenderest,  holiest,  emotion  of  her 
Soul.  Yea,  even  though  she  had  sinned  against  me  as  deeply  as 
had  Artemisia. 

At  this  very  moment  when  revenge  was  within  my  power, 
when  I  might  have  drugged  myself  to  satiety  with  the  sight  of 
my  enemies'  sufferings,  I  gave  up  the  contest,  and  allowed  the 
opportunity  to  slip  from  my  grasp.  My  hand,  stretched  out  to 
destroy,  fell  powerless  at  my  side,  paralysed  by  the  agony  of  the 
Mother's  cry  for  mercy  for  her  child. 

It  required  all  my  power  to  drag  off  the  savage  dark  Spirits 
I  had  so  nearly  let  loose  in  all  their  malice  upon  Selim.  All  the 
force  of  my  strong  will  was  scarce  adequate  for  the  task,  but  at 
last  I  saw  them  gather  like  an  evil  crowd  of  vultures  and  sink 
slowly  down  from  sight.  Then  I  waved  my  hands  over  the 
wretched  Selim  and  bade  him  be  free  from  me  forever,  where- 
upon he  too  vanished. 

As  he  disappeared  a  tremendous  flash  of  lightning  rent  the 
sky,  a  mighty  clap  of  thunder  shook  the  ground,  and  I  beheld 
the  furious  countenance  of  the  Dark  Angel  as  he  towered  above 
me  in  his  wrath. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  193 

"Behold,"  said  he  in  a  deep  voice  of  intense  wrath,  "Behold, 
I  have  done  my  part,  I  have  given  thee  the  boon  that  thou  didst 
crave,  and  like  a  capricious  child  thou  hast  flung  it  from  thee 
because  thy  mood  has  changed !  Thou  art  a  mighty  one  to  think 
to  rule  in  Hell!  Thou,  who  canst  not  keep  thy  fell  purpose  for 
one  hour!  Behold,  I  have  fulfilled  my  share  of  our  bargain,  now 
must  thou  fulfill  thine!" 

For  one  brief  moment  I  beheld  the  fearful  fiend,  then  a  great 
chasm  ,opened  beneath  my  feet  and  engulfed  me.  Down  and 
down  I  sank  in  the  awful  darkness.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  was 
sinking  down  forever! 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  DARK  ANGEL;  DOOMED  TO 

THE  BLACK  PIT;  HOW  WILL  POWER  SAVED  ME; 

THE  SPORT  OF   THE  ANGELS  OF   INFERNO; 

THE    ORIGIN   OF  DARK   ANGELS;  WHY 

THEY  ARE  BEYOND  MORTAL  KEN 

At  last  my  downward  journey  was  suddenly  arrested,  and  I 
found  myself  in  what  appeared  to  be  a  vast  black  pit.  Walls  of 
jagged  rock  rose  up  on  all  sides,  and  through  the  darkness  I  could 
dimly  perceive  that  they  extended  to  a  great  distance  all 
around  me. 

As  I  tried  to  rise  and  stand  upon  my  feet,  I  found  that  my  limbs 
were  loaded  with  ponderous  chains,  and  it  was  only  with  great 
difficulty  and  after  many  efforts  that  I  was  at  last  able  to  raise 
myself  to  an  upright  position.  To  walk  seemed  impossible,  so 
heavy  were  my  fetters. 

As  I  became  accustomed  to  the  darkness  I  began  to  see  that 
I  was  not  alone.  Huge  phantoms  hovered  near  me  with  out- 
spread wings,  and  as  my  sight  grew  clearer  I  saw  that  upon  the 
forehead  of  each  there  glowed  a  single  spark  of  crimson  fire,  while 
their  faces  were  instinct  with  the  strong  life  and  power  with  which 
the  force  of  my  own  passions  had  endowed  them.  As  I  looked 
again  and  again  upon  these  hovering  shapes  that  loomed  through 


194  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN] 

the  darkness  like  avenging  spectres,  and  approached  ever  nearer 
and  nearer  to  me  with  threatening  gestures,  I  recognized  them  to 
be  the  Genii  of  Revenge  and  Hatred,  of  Cruelty  and  Murder, 
which  I  had  seen  in  the  phantom  valley  of  the  Genii.  Now 
these  strange  beings  had  grown  to  twice  their  former  size,  and 
possessed  a  degree  of  intelligence  and  a  power  of  action  more 
than  double  that  which  they  had  possessed  before. 

They  gathered  around  me  like  destroying  angels,  and  hemmed 
me  in  on  every  side,  while  yet  fresh  and  ever  fresh  phantoms 
floated  down  to  swell  the  throng.  The  glittering,  scale-like  robes 
they  wore  seemed  to  wrap  me  round  and  crush  me,  as  the 
Anaconda  crushes  the  body  of  its  victims.  The  dull  sparks  of 
fire  that  shot  from  their  fierce  eyes  seemed  to  pierce  my  brain  as 
with  a  hundred  knife  stabs.  Their  hot  breaths  were  like  the 
fumes  from  a  furnace  upon  my  cheeks,  and  their  talon-like  claws 
were  extended  to  tear  my  flesh.  Suddenly  I  bethought  me  of  the 
words  of  Abubatha  when  he  had  spoken  to  me  in  the  last  dream 
I  had  on  Earth:  "None  can  have  dominion  over  thy  Soul  unless 
thou  thyself  give  them  the  power."  And  I  said  unto  myself  "shall 
I,  who  am  immortal,  suffer  these  Soulless  beings  of  the  Astral 
World  to  assault  me  and  tamper  with  my  freedom?  Is  it  not  I 
who  should  dominate  them,  and  hold  them  as  mere  servants  of 
my  will?" 

I  stamped  my  fettered  foot  upon  the  ground  and  stretched 
forth  my  manacled  hands  towards  these  hideous  shapes,  crying 
unto  them,  "Avaunt!  Ye  foul  fiends  of  evil  passions!  Avaunt 
ye!  Get  ye  gone  unto  thine  own  habitations,  for  I  will  yield 
my  Soul  unto  such  influences  no  more ! " 

As  I  uttered  these  words  the  chains  which  I  had  thought  had 
bound  me  fell  asunder  and  left  me  free,  while  the  dark  shapes 
rolled  like  a  foul  mist  away,  leaving  me  standing  alone  in  the  dark 
pit. 


How  long  I  remained  in  the  darkness  I  know  not,  but  it 
seemed  a  long  time,  for  my  thoughts  travelled  over  and  over  again 
through  all  the  events  of  my  Earth  life  and  my  experiences  in  the 
Spirit  World.  My  memory  gave  me  back  picture  after  picture, 
till  I  could  bear  the  recollections  no  longer,  and  I  arose  to  wander 
through  the  darkness  and  find  whether  there  was  no  outlet  to  my 
prison. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  195 

Round  and  round  the  black,  rocky  walls  I  wandered,  but  there 
was  no  possible  means  of  escape  that  I  could  find.  It  appeared 
to  me  that  I  thus  wandered  in  the  darkness  for  what  must  have 
been  weeks  of  earthly  time.  Nothing  could  I  see  but  myself  and 
the  black  rocks  around  me;  no  sound  broke  the  stillness  but  the 
sound  of  my  own  voice  as  I  called  from  time  to  time,  in  hopes  that 
some  other  voice  would  answer  me,  yea,  even  though  it  might  be 
the  voice  of  the  Dark  Angel  himself. 

At  last,  in  despair,  I  sat  down  upon  the  hard  ground,  and  the 
oblivion  of  sleep  fell  upon  my  senses,  rendering  me  for  a  time 
unconscious  of  my  terrible  position. 

After  a  long  sleep  I  awoke  to  hear  a  voice  calling  me,  which  I 
recognized  to  be  that  of  Mansur.  It  appeared  to  come  from 
above  me,  and  said: 

"Aha!  Ho,  Ahrinziman!  Art  thou  indeed  enjoying  thy 
slumbers  in  this  fair  Kingdom  which  our  great  Master  hath  given 
thee?  Dost  thou  enjoy  thy  sovereignty  over  the  only  things  in 
this  land  which  thou  art  fit  to  control?  Or  doth  thy  curiosity 
prompt  thee  to  see  a  little  more  of  the  wondrous  sphere  of  which 
thou  hast  become  an  inhabitant?  Behold,  the  Dark  Angel 
summons  thee  unto  his  presence,  that  he  may  gauge  the  value 
of  the  service  thou  didst  offer  him." 

Mansur  laughed,  as  though  my  condition  afforded  him  much 
amusement,  and  then  in  answer  to  my  inquiries  as  to  how  I  was 
to  obey  the  Dark  Angel's  summons,  he  let  down  a  rope,  up  which 
I  climbed  till  I  found  myself  standing  beside  him  on  an  extensive 
plateau  of  hard  soil,  plentifully  bestrewn  with  ashes. 

The  thick,  heavy  atmosphere  above  us,  the  dark  night  sky 
and  heavy  clouds,  prevented  me  from  seeing  far  in  any  direction, 
but  as  I  followed  my  conductor  I  observed  the  towers  and  buildings 
of  a  vast  city  looming  through  the  blackness  before  us.  Here  and 
there  great  tongues  of  lurid  flame  shot  upward  from  the  earth, 
but  their  light  only  served  to  illuminate  the  space  immediately 
around ,  showing  numberless  dark  figures  of  Spirits  which  danced 
around  the  flames  and  hurried  to  and  fro  as  though  intent  urjon 
some  business. 

As  we  drew  near  the  city  I  saw  that  it  resembled  closely  a.  great 
capital  of  the  Eastern  Empire.  The  mighty  domes  of  the  Palaces 
glowed  with  the  dull  crimson  of  monster  fires  within,  and  from 
the  lofty  towers  flaring  beacons  of  blood  red  light  flung  their 
rays  across  the  dark  plains.  At  ever}7  step  the  feet  sank  deep 


196  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

into  the  thick  ashes  of  burnt  out  passions  which  strewed  the 
ground,  and  the  close  stifling  sulphurous  smoke  that  rolled 
upwards  in  great  clouds  continually  was  scorching  as  the  breath 
of  a  colossal  furnace. 

Myriads  of  Spirits  of  every  shade  of  color  and  every  race  of 
people  passed  us,  engaged  in  every  variety  of  task,  and'  in  every 
condition  of  abject  misery  it  was  possible  to  conceive.  Some 
served  as  beasts  of  burden  to  their  more  powerful  fellows,  and 
were  driven  on  with  savage  blows  and  imprecations.  Others 
were  tormented  by  those  around  them,  that  their  contortions  of 
agony  might  amuse  the  spectators. 

Everywhere  and  on  all  the  buildings  there  was  the  same  stamp 
of  foulness  and  ruin  and  decay.  The  stones  of  the  street  seemed 
to  ooze  with  blood,  and  the  walls  to  drip  with  it.  The  whole 
fearful  scene  was  lit  up  by  the  flaring  beacons  on  the  lofty  towers, 
as  they  flashed  their  red  light  through  the  all  pervading  darkness. 

Before  the  inner  courtyard  of  the  largest  Palace  I  beheld  an 
immense  square,  wherein  an  enormous  multitude  of  Spirits  congre- 
gated, as  though  awaiting  the  arrival  of  some  powerful  personage. 
The  interior  of  the  square  was  arranged  like  a  vast  amphitheatre. 
At  one  side  there  was  a  throne,  which  glowed  like  burnished  cop- 
per. It  was  supported  by  black  marble  pillars,  and  approached 
by  a  flight  of  fifty  marble  steps.  At  the  sides  of  each  step  there 
knelt  the  headless  figure  of  a  Spirit;  the  heads,  which  had  evi-~ 
'dently  been  struck  from  the  bodies  with  a  scimitar,  were  placed 
between  the  knees  of  the  figures.  Impassive  and  motionless  they 
knelt,  and  but  for  the  eyes  which  moved  at  times,  as  though  watch- 
ing those  around  them,  I  should  have  imagined  that  they  were 
mere  images  of  stone.  To  my  inquiring  glance  Mansur  replied : 

"These  Spirits  represent  a  pleasing  pastime  indulged  in  by 
our  Master,  the  Dark  Angel,  during  his.Earthly  existence.  These 
Spirits  were  all  captives  in  war,  and  at  a  festival  such  as  this  we 
are  about  to  attend,  the  Dark  Angel,  then  Emperor  of  an  Eastern 
Kingdom,  of  great  power,  caused  these  men  to  be  bound  in  a 
kneeling  position  such  as  you  see  them  in  now,  and  directed  that 
the  most  skillful  swordsmen  of  his  army  should  ride  towards  them 
at  full  speed  and  with  their  scimitars  sever  the  head  from  the  body 
at  a  single  stroke,  and  any  swordsman  who  failed  to  cut  off  the 
head  at  the  first  blow  was  at  once  decapitated  himself  as  a  clumsy 
bungler,  unfit  for  his  master's  service.  These  figures  you  see 
here  are  but  the  remaining  few  of  the  many  thus  killed.  They 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  197 

were  once  numbered  by  hundreds,  but  gradually,  as  the  thirst  for 
vengeance  upon  their  conqueror  died  out  of  their  hearts,  they  passed 
out  of  these  dominions,  and  the  mere  Astral  shells  they  left  behind 
became,  as  you  will  see,  a  decoration  of  our  Master's  Palace." 

He  pointed  to  the  Palace  behind,  and  looking  intently  at  it  I 
saw  with  a  shudder  that  the  whole  front  was  garnished  at  a  dis- 
tance of  a  few  feet  apart,  with  decaying  Spirit  bodies  of  men,  all 
headless  and  all  kneeling  like  those  upon  the  steps,  the  horrible 
appearance  they  presented  in  their  mouldering,  repulsive  condi- 
tion being  indescribably  revolting.  I  wondered  it  did  not  make 
the  Dark  Angel  shudder  every  time  he  entered  his  Palace  to  see 
these  gruesome  sentinels  lining  his  walls.  And  yet  the  rest  of  the 
building  was  after  all  in  keeping  with  this  fantastically  horrible 
decoration.  Queer  ghastly  shapes  were  outlined  on  it  every- 
where, and  silhouetted  in  shades  of  grey  and  crimson  upon  the 
black  stones. 

I  was  still  examining  the  fearful  Palace  when  a  heavy  black 
curtain  that  hung  before  the  principal  door  was  drawn  aside  by 
invisible  hands,  and  as  the  glare  of  fiery  light  within  the  Palace 
lit  up  the  entrance,  I  saw  a  strange  procession  come  out. 

First  there  came  a  motley  mass  of  Spirits  who  seemed  mere 
slaves  attending  on  the  Emperor.  These  flung  down  what  looked 
like  the  skins  of  wild  beasts  torn  reeking  from  the  living  animal, 
to  serve  as  a  carpet  for  the  Emperor  and  his  suite.  Next  there 
came  a  band  of  minstrels  with  cymbals  and  harps  in  their  hands, 
but  as  every  instrument  was  out  of  tune,  every  string  either  twisted 
or  broken,  and  every  cymbal  cracked,  the  noise  they  extracted 
was  a  torture  to  the  ear.  Nevertheless  they  played  on  to  the 
delight  of  the  Emperor,  who  seemed  to  enjoy  the  annoyance  this 
ear-splitting  symphony  inflicted  upon  the  more  sensitive  nerves 
of  those  around  him.  A  great  many  Spirits,  whose  dignity  of 
bearing  proclaimed  them  personages  of  importance,  accompanied 
the  Emperor,  who  towered  over  all  around  him,  not  only  in  the 
magnificance  of  his  stature  and  the  proportions  of  his  figure,  but 
also  in  his  intellectual  powers.  His  robes  were  of  a  deep  purple, 
almost  black,  and  with  a  crimson  border  that  looked  as  though 
it  had  been  dyed  in  human  blood.  Upon  his  head  he  wore  a 
Crown  of  Flame,  that  flickered  or  grew  bright  as  the  softer  or 
fiercer  emotions  stirred  his  Soul.  In  the  front  of  the  Crown  there 
gleamed  a  blood-red  Star,  like  a  gigantic  ruby,  whose  rays  shot 
out  like  spears  dipped  in  blood. 


198  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

By  the  side  of  this  Spirit  whom  I  at  once  recognized  as  the 
Dark  Angel,  there  walked  another  Spirit,  almost  as  tall  and 
almost  as  powerful,  whose  dress  resembled  the  other's  in  all 
respects  save  that  his  crown  glittered  like  a  Crown  of  Steel,  and 
his  star  was  green  as  an  emerald,  and  the  bordering  of  his  robe 
had  a  green  shimmer  like  the  scales  of  a  serpent's  body. 

From  the  shoulders  of  each  of  these  two  Spirits  there  rose 
what  seemed  to  my  eyes  like  folded  wings  of  dark  gossamer.  At 
first  I  thought  they  grew  to  the  shoulders,  but  on  a  closer  examina- 
tion I  saw  that  they  were  but  a  part  of  the  drapery. 

How  can  I  describe  the  faces  of  these  two  powerful  dark 
Spirits?  How  find  mere  words  to  express  at  once  the  all  pervad- 
ing wickedness,  the  stamp  of  sensuality,  of  cruelty,  of  hatred  to  all 
things  on  Earth,  or  in  Heaven  and  Hell,  that  was  impressed  upon 
their  countenances?  Or  how  describe  the  subtle  charm  they 
seemed  to  exercise  over  all  around  them?  How  can  I  show  to 
mortal  eyes  the  strange  perfection  of  form  and  feature,  that  was 
yet  so  indefinably  marred  by  the  hideousness  of  the  Souls 
within?  The  language  of  man  seems  poor  and  expressionless 
when  one  seeks  to  show  by  its  aid  the  ethereality  and  yet  the  tangi- 
bility of  the  Spirit  body,  the  strange  likeness  and  yet  unlikeness 
to  the  mortal  form,  the  powerfulness  of  the  personality  and  yet 
the  aerial  nature  of  its  envelope.  Only  those  who  have  once  seen 
a  glimpse  of  these  angels  of  the  Dark  Spheres  can  fully  realize 
how  subtle  and  how  great  is  at  once  the  attraction  and  repulsion 
which  they  exercise  over  all  those  who  behold  them. 

Beside  these  powerful  beings,  whose  evil  natures  were  so 
colossal  as  to  raise  them  above  all  around  them,  the  other  dark 
Spirits  seemed  mere  insignificant  impersonations  of  wickedness, 
and  I  realized  at  last  what  a  King  in  Hell  must  mean !  To  my 
eyes  the  Angel  of  the  Blood  Red  Star  seemed  so  much  above  even 
his  companion  angel  that  I  took  him  to  be  none  other  than  Ahriman 
himself,  the  great  Prince  of  Evil,  and  I  said  so  to  Mansur. 

"Nay,  Ahrinziman,  thou  art  wrong.  Those  who  would 
endow  the  great  PRINCIPLE  of  Evil  with  a  personality  are  wrong. 
He  hath  no  more  a  form  or  shape  which  can  be  discerned  by 
mortal  mind ,  or  personified  in  the  image  of  a  man,  than  hath  the 
great  principle  of  Good,  whom  men  designate  the  Supreme  God. 
No  eye,  be  it  of  mortal  or  of  Spirit,  hath  ever  seen  them,  and  of 
their  ultimate  nature  none  can  tell,  since  all  alike  are  ignorant  of 
it.  The  Angels  of  Paradise  worship  the  Divine  Idea  of  Goodness 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  199 

under  the  name  and  symbol  of  'ORMUZD,'  even  as  we  in  these 
dark  spheres  bow  ourselves  and  yield  up  our  wills  to  the  great 
principle  of  Evil  whom  we  call  'AHRIMAN.'  And  in  doing  so 
is  it  not  enough  for  us  with  our  limited  powers  to  know  that  we 
choose  thereby  the  Upward  or  the  Downward  path?  Can  we 
hope  that  to  our  strivings  after  Truth  all  Knowledge  can  at  once 
be  revealed?  Man  rushes  too  often  to  hasty  conclusions,  formed 
from  the  imperfect  glimpses  he  hath  seen  of  these  Angels  of  Light 
and  Darkness,  and  those  whom  we  have  thought  to  be  the  All 
Powerful  Supreme  God,  or  the  great  Embodiment  of  Evil,  were 
but  Angels  of  either  the  Light  or  Dark  Spheres,  such  beings,  in 
fact,  as  are  before  us  now,  whose  mighty  force  of  will  when  exer- 
cised either  for  Good  or  Evil  compels  all  lesser  wills  to  bend  before 
their  decrees. 

"The  Angels  of  Light  mine  eyes  have  not  beheld  since  the 
days  of  mine  own  youth  on  Earth,  when  I  was  vouchsafed  dim 
glimpses  of  their  glorious  forms.  For  thou  mayest  know  that  I 
was  dedicated  unto  the  Priesthood.  Temptation  assailed  me, 
and  I  fell,  transgressing  my  vows  and  fleeing  at  last  from  the 
Temple  where  I  served.  Then  did  the  love  of  occult  knowledge 
appeal  to  mine  ambitions,  and  led  me  yet  further  astray,  till  the 
serpent  of  Evil — as  men  call  their  own  base  desires  in  the  hope 
that  they  thus  transfer  a  share  of  their  responsibility  to  the  per- 
sonification of  the  Evil  principle — extinguished  the  good,  and  only 
the  charms  of  the  senses  now  allure  me.  The  only  Angels  I  can 
see  are  such  as  these;  yet  do  I  know  that  in  the  bright  spheres 
there  are  Angels  the  glory  of  whose  Kingdoms  no  words  of  man 
can  paint." 

"Are  these  angels,  then,  a  separate  creation  from  man?"  I 
asked.  "It  hath  been  taught  that  the  Angels  in  Heaven  rebelled 
against  'ORMUZD'  and  were  cast  forth.  Are  these  Beings 
before  us  some  of  those  fallen  Angels?" 

"Thou  mayest  call  them  fallen  Angels  if  thou  dost  desire,  for 
if  a  man  sin  doth  not  the  Angel  that  is  within  him  fall  into  sub- 
jection to  his  lower  nature?  But  if  thou  dost  mean  that  these 
were  ever  angels  dwelling  in  the  Heaven  of  the  Bright  Spheres, 
then  I  tell  thee  No.  For  no  conquest  is  possible  there.  The  very 
harmony  by  which  they  exist,  and  which  is  the  very  essence  of  the 
difference  between  them  and  us,  forbids  aught  of  contest  in  their 
Spheres.  These  Angels  of  Darkness,  like  Kindred  Angels  of 
Light,  are  alike  the  offspring  of  mortality.  All  have  once  known 


200  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

material  life  upon  some  planet,  but  in  ages  so  remote  that  there 
are  no  records  left  to  man  of  their  histories. 

"It  hath  been  told  to  me,  but  I  know  not  whether  it  be  true, 
since  I  know  only  what  the  experiences  of  the  Dark  Spheres  can 
teach,  that  the  Dark  Angels  do  in  time  cast  off  the  scales  of  Dark- 
ness and  arise  from  sin,  and  through  paths  whose  ways  are  ex- 
tended beyond  our  power  to  follow  they  ascend  at  last  to  the  state 
of  the  Bright  Angels,  and  reign  in  the  glorious  realms  of  the 
Golden  Star.  But  inasmuch  as  the  evil  they  have  wrought  hath 
been  colossal,  even  so  must  the  path  of  their  repentance  be  colos- 
sal in  its  difficulties,  and  the  sum  of  their  atonement  almost 
beyond  the  power  of  our  thoughts  to  conceive.  Even  for  such 
as  I  am  the  path  of  Repentance  seems  so  long  and  hard,  stretching 
as  it  does  through  all  the  many  centuries  in  which  I  have  lived  and 
sinned,  that  though  there  are  times  when  I  turn  my  longing  eyes 
towards  it,  in  weariness  of  the  scenes  around  me  here,  I  hesitate 
and  shrink  back  from  its  difficulties  and  its  infinite  toil  and  suffer- 
ing. The  gross  pleasures  of  my  senses  still  enthrall  me,  and  even 
my  thirst  for  the  higher  knowledge  of  the  Spheres  of  Light  cannot 
draw  me  to  the  path  by  which  alone  I  can  hope  to  win  it.  If  at 
times  my  Divine  Soul  is  awakened  by  the  thought  of  the  unex- 
plored wonders  that  the  Light  Spheres  must  contain,  and  which 
my  intellect  ever  tells  me  would  repay  me  for  all  my  sufferings, 
my  animal  Soul  drowns  the  pure  whisperings  with  its  fierce  clamor- 
ings  for  those  gross  pleasures  which  only  the  Earth  can  afford  to 
it,  and  again  and  yet  again  I  return  to  Earth  and  seek  the  control 
of  an  Earthly  body  as  a  means  of  gratifying  the  all  potent 
demands  of  that  baser  self  which  is  too  strong  for  the  higher 
aspirations  of  my  better  nature.  Thus  do  I  chain  myself  within 
these  spheres.  Thus  have  I  sunk  to  where  I  dwell  now,  and  if  I 
seek  to  rise  it  can  only  be  by  drawing  up  with  me  step 
by  step  all  those  whom  I  have  drawn  down.  Their  num- 
ber is  legion,  and  each  one  is  as  a  great  load  of  iron  that  I  must 
raise  even  as  I  raise  myself.  NOT  ONE  can  I  neglect  or  leave 
behind. 

"Wonder  not,  then,  that  I  stand  as  one  stands  shivering  on 
the  banks  of  an  icy  stream,  hesitating  to  plunge  into  that  cleans- 
ing flood  which  flows  over  difficulties  and  through  lands  of  suffer- 
ing which  it  appalls  me  to  contemplate.  And  if  it  must  be  thus 
with  me,  such  as  I  am,  who  though,  as  ye  may  think,  have  sinned 
almost  past  redemption,  what  must  be  the  task  of  Repentance  to 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  201 

these  mighty  Rulers?  What  the  periods  of  time  through  which 
they  will  have  to  labor?" 

"And  yet  it  hath  been  taught  by  certain  of  our  Prophets  that 
there  was  ultimate  redemption  even  for  the  fallen  Angels.  The 
Prophet  Zerdusht,  whom  some  have  deemed  to  be  the  re-in- 
carnation of  the  great  Zoroaster  himself,  taught  even  that  it 
was  so." 

"Yea,  and  of  a  truth  he  was  a  wondrous  teacher  and  a  mighty 
Prophet.  I  wonder  not  that  men  thought  him  the  ancient 
founder  of  the  Persian  Religion  come  to  Earth  again,  for  in  my 
wanderings  o'er  the  Earth  Plane  I  have  many  a  time  and  oft 
stayed  my  flight  to  listen  to  his  teachings,  and  when  I  did  so  I 
ever  beheld  the  Spirit  of  the  mighty  Zoroaster  himself  enveloping 
Zerdusht  as  with  a  mantle,  and  inspiring  him  with  the  thoughts 
to  which  he  gave  utterance.  And  yet  even  Zerdusht  could  scarce 
conceive  how  stupendous  a  task  Redemption  must  prove  unto 
these  Dark  Angels.  The  mortal  sight  ever  dimmed  the  perfection 
of  the  Spiritual  vision,  and  though  he  grasped  much  of  the  truths 
imparted  unto  him,  yet  a  certain  measure  of  their  most  subtle 
essence  was  of  necessity  lost.  Moreover  Zerdusht,  like  all 
Prophets,  started  with  certain  beliefs  founded  upon  the  Earth; 
recorded  teachings  of  the  great  Zoroaster  which  of  necessity  par- 
took of  the  imperfections  of  those  Earthly  conditions  under 
which  they  were  given.  For,  great  as  was  the  Founder  of  the 
Religion  of  thine  own  Father's  country,  oh  Ahrinziman,  neither 
he  nor  any  Prophet  of  any  race  could  entirely  rise  above  that 
cloud  of  materiality  which  ever  obscures  in  a  greater  or  less  degree 
the  vision  of  those  on  Earth  who  seek  to  penetrate  the  mysteries 
of  the  Higher  Spheres.  So  long  as  Man  the  Spirit  preserves  any 
ties  to  the  Earthly  body  he  has  inhabited,  so  long  will  its  Earthly 
nature  obscure  the  clearness  of  his  Spiritual  sight,  and  those 
seekers  after  knowledge  who  have  thought  to  wander  through 
the  Spirit  World  and  view  its  wonders  and  its  mysteries  with  their 
Spiritual  eyes  while  they  yet  remained  in  the  Earthly  envelope  in 
its  integrity,  have  fallen  into  yet  greater  errors  than  any  others, 
because  the  dual  nature  of  the  sight  they  thus  exercised  served 
to  confuse  their  vision  of  both  sides  of  life.  Like  a  couple  of 
weights  hung  at  either  end  of  a  floating  stick  these  two  forms  of 
sight  weigh  down  both  faculties  of  the  mind  at  once,  and  even  as 
it  would  be  impossible  for  either  end  of  the  stick  to  rise  into  the 
air  or  float  on  the  surface  of  the  water  while  thus  weighted;  so 


202          THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

the  mind,  embarrassed  by  the  two  forms  of  sight,  sinks  beneath 
waves  of  error  and  confusion." 

"But,"  said  I  in  astonishment,  "doth  not  a  clairvoyant  in  the 
flesh,  whose  Spiritual  sight  is  for  the  time  unveiled,  behold  Spirit- 
ual things  while  yet  attached  unto  his  Earthly  body?  Have  not 
I  myself  wandered  through  the  spheres  while  thus  attached  to 
my  body  by  a  magnetic  thread?" 

Mansur  laughed  a  low,  soft  laugh  as  he  replied:  "Thou 
mayest  have  wandered  through  the  Earth  Plane,  and  even  have 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  second  Spheres  that  lie  above  and  below 
the  Earth  Plane,  but  thou  didst  not  pass  higher  or  lower  than  its 
first  circles.  Thou  didst  imagine  without  doubt  that  thou  didst 
visit  Spheres  of  wondrous  exaltation  when  thou  didst  behold  thy 
visions  in  the  Temple,  but  in  very  truth  till  all  ties  between  Man 
and  Earth  be  severed  the  Soul  of  man  cannot  penetrate  beyond 
this  second  Sphere,  which  like  a  twin  belt  of  light  and  dark  en- 
circles the  great  Earth  Plane.  What  the  clairvoyant  beholds  are 
the  scenes  of  the  higher  or  lower  Spheres  projected  upon  his 
mental  sight  like  pictures  from  the  MINDS  of  SPIRITS  who  dwell 
in  those  Spheres.  For  the  time  being  these  Spirits  so  dominate 
thy  mental  vision  that  the  sense  of  thine  own  individuality  is  lost, 
and  thou  dost  imagine  that  it  is  THOU  who  seest  with  thine  own 
eyes  the  scenes  these  Spirits  looked  upon.  Thou  mayest  say  that 
thou  art  taken  in  spirit  into  these  scenes,  and  in  one  sense  it  would 
be  true,  but  thy  Spirit  doth  not  travel  from  earth  to  them.  When 
thou  wert  in  the  Temple  this  controlling  mind  was  either  that 
of  the  Priest  who  stood  by  thy  side  while  thou  wert  in  the  trance 
condition,  or  that  of  some  Spirit  in  close  accord  with  him.  It 
might  even  be  that  the  minds  of  both  Priest  and  Spirit  influenced 
thee  at  once,  if  they  were  both  in  accord  with  each  other  and  with 
thee.  With  Jelal-ud-din  it  was  I  who  projected  the  images  upon 
thy  mind,  for  I  so  dominated  Jelal-ud-din  that  in  his  studies  he 
had  learned  to  sink  his  own  will  altogether  and  keep  his  mind  in 
abeyance  while  thou  wert  in  thy  trance.  He  knew  enough  to 
know  how  great  is  the  need  for  such  passivity  in  those  who  sur- 
round the  Earthly  clairvoyant.  Thus  his  mind  became  for  the 
time  as  colorless  as  a  globe  of  clear  water,  and  had  it  not  been 
that  death  intervened  between  us  I  should,  through  thine  aid,  have 
been  able  to  give  him  the  teachings  he  sought,  and  shown  through 
pictures  which  I  would  have  projected  upon  thy  mind,  the  true  con- 
ditions of  Spirit  life  in  those  spheres  which  I  have  myself  beheld. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  203 

"As  for  thee,  Ahrinziman,  thou  shalt  behold  the  Spirit  World 
for  thyself,  and  shall  wander  in  spheres  where  I,  alas!  may  not 
enter.  I  have  consulted  the  stars  on  thy  behalf,  and  lo !  I  perceive 
that  thy  Star  is  already  in  the  ascendant.  As  for  Jelal-ud-din 
and  myself,  our  paths  lie  yet  through  darkened  ways.  In  my 
control  of  him  I  dragged  his  moral  nature  down  for  the  satisfac- 
tion of  mine  animal  passions,  even  while  I  elevated  his  intellect- 
ual powers,  and  Jelal-ud-din  I  must  raise  ere  I  can  take  one 
upward  step  myself.  We  are  alike  wallowing  in  the  mire  of 
our  own  corrupt  desires,  and  I  question  whether  either  of  us  will 
ever  have  a  sincere  wish  to  rise  to  better  things." 

He  spoke  as  though  he  was  uttering  his  own  thoughts  aloud 
rather  than  addressing  me,  and  I  could  see  that  he  had  almost 
forgotten  my  presence. 


CHAPTER  XI 

MANSUR'S   SACRIFICE   TO   SAVE   ME 

Our  further  conversation  was  interrupted  by  a  burst  of  the 
ear-splitting  music,  which  announced  that  the  sport  was  about 
to  begin.  The  two  Angels  having  ascended  the  marble  steps, 
and  seated  themselves  upon  two  bronze  seats  in  the  form  of 
winged  beasts,  an  immense  canopy  of  black  and  crimson  was  held 
above  their  heads  by  a  number  of  slaves.  At  a  signal  from  the 
Angel  of  the  Red  Star  the  arena  became  filled  with  savage  animals, 
or  rather  the  spiritual  counterparts  of  what  had  been  such  animals 
in  Earth  life. 

They  appeared  to  rise  from  the  ground  as  though  they  had 
been  imprisoned  in  it,  and  at  once,  and  with  great  ferocity, 
attacked  each  other,  while  the  dark,  degraded  spirits  who  formed 
the  spectators  began  excitedly  to  wager  themselves  and  such 
possessions  as  they  had  upon  the  chances  of  the  different  brutes 
they  had  selected. 

This  part  of  the  entertainment  was,  however,  of  short  dura- 
tion; the  real  interest  of  the  show  was  yet  to  come. 

As  soon  as  victory  had  declared  itself  in  favor  of  one  of  the 
animals,  it  was  at  once  caught  in  a  big  net  and  drawn  to  one 


204          THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZINAN 

side  of  the  enclosure,  and  when  the  last  contest  between  brute 
and  brute  was  over  a  number  of  human  spirits  were  driven  like 
cattle  into  the  enclosure,  the  nets  were  withdrawn  from  the  savage 
spirit  animals,  and  a  fierce  contest  between  them  and  the  spirit 
men  took  place,  closely  resembling  similar  contests  on  Earth, 
only  that  as  one  brute  after  another  was  killed  fresh  ones  were 
brought  from  the  caverns  below  and  let  loose  upon  the  unhappy 
men  till  the  arena  looked  like  one  vast  shambles. 

Here  no  quarter  was  given,  nor  expected,  and  both  sides  fought 
till  their  antagonists  were  a  mere  mass  of  bloody  fragments,  even 
as  I  had  seen  on  the  occasion  of  the  conflict  between  the  animals 
of  the  Astral  Plane. 

I  was  still  watching  with  feelings  of  mingled  aversion  and 
surprise,  when  Mansur  touched  my  arm,  and  drawing  me  aside 
from  the  rest  of  the  throng,  led  me  to  a  small  cavern  which  seemed 
hollowed  out  of  the  black  earth  beneath  the  crowded  arena. 

My  conductor's  manner  had  undergone  a  considerable  change 
since  he  had  discoursed  so  philosophically  with  me  a  short  time 
before.  He  was  visibly  agitated,  and  seemed  torn  by  two  con- 
flicting emotions,  one  of  which  caused  him  to  wish  to  do  me  a 
friendly  turn,  and  the  other  to  fear  the  possible  consequences  to 
himself. 

"See,  Ahrinziman,"  said  he,  "the  Dark  Angel  is  in  much 
wrath  with  thee,  for  he  looked  to  draw  Artemisia  here  with  thee, 
and  now  he  thinks  she  will  escape  him.  Thou  wilt  be  called 
upon  shortly  to  take  thy  place  with  others  in  yonder  scene  of 
savagery.  Thou  wilt  have  to  depend  upon  thine  own  powers 
for  victory.  But  seek  not  to  fight  them  with  the  weapon  of  thy 
brutish  strength,  for,  lo!  in  mere  brute  force  the  lower  animal  is 
superior.  Fight  them  with  the  weapons  of  thy  intellect  and  -thy 
will.  Subjugate  them  by  the  force  of  thy  higher  nature,  thy 
stronger  Soul!" 

He  paused  and  looked  around  with  an  expression  of  furtive 
cunning  ere  he  continued  hurriedly,  drawing  as  he  spoke  a  small 
slender  black  wand,  not  two  feet  long,  from  his  sleeve  and  putting 
it  in  my  hand:  "Behold  I  will  even  give  thee  this,  the  greatest 
gift  anyone  could  give  thee  here.  See,  it  is  the  sceptre  that  was 
used  by  a  great  Spirit  who  once  dwelt  within  this  sphere,  and 
ruled  with  a  power  that  transcended  even  that  of  our  Master  the 
Dark  Angel,  before  whom  thou  must  appear.  Long  hath  the 
owner  of  this  wand  departed  from  this  sphere  into  higher  regions; 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  205 

he  is  one  of  those  who  hath  elected  to  climb  the  upward  path, 
despite  its  toils,  but  this  wand  bears  yet  the  influence  of  his  per- 
sonality, and  carries  with  it  the  power  of  his  stupendous  will. 
If  thou  dost  hold  the  point  of  it  in  thine  hand  and  suffer  the  wand 
itself  to  rest  upon  thine  arm,  under  the  powerful  spell  that  it  doth 
exercise  even  these  savage  brutes  must  tremble  before  thee,  and 
even  the  Dark  Angel  himself  will  scarce  prevail  against  thy  will. 

"I  may  not  say  more,  for  already  they  come  to  fetch  thee,  and 
I  may  not  be  found  with  thee  lest  I  draw  upon  myself  the  anger 
of  our  Master." 

He  thrust  his  gift  into  my  hand  and  was  gone  before  I  could 
thank  him,  and  while  I  was  examining  the  slender  wand  the 
little  cavern  was  suddenly  invaded  by  a  number  of  dark  spirits 
of  the  most  revolting  type,  who  came  to  drag  me  before  the  Dark 
Angel. 

Instead  of  allowing  them  to  seize  me,  however,  I  signed  to 
them  to  stand  back,  and  said  that  I  would  follow  them  if  they 
preceded  me. 

A  savage  laugh  greeted  my  suggestion,  but  when  they  found 
that  they  could  not  touch  me,  after  making  several  attacks,  they 
drew  back  snarling  like  a  pack  of  wolves,  and  signed  to  me  to 
follow  them  through  an  opening  into  the  Arena,  which  brought 
us  out  in  front  of  the  Dark  Angel's  throne. 


CHAPTER   XII 

HOW  DEATH  IS  POSSIBLE  EVEN  IN  HELL;  MANSUR'S 

FATE 

Strange  indeed  was  the  scene  upon  which  mine  eyes  rested 
as  I  stepped  into  the  Arena.  The  great  masses  of  dark  smoke 
which  rose  continually  from  the  ground  in  clouds  like  steam, 
hung  overhead,  and  were  tinged  with  the  red  reflections  from 
the  blood-stained  ground,  and  the  fiery  light  from  many  beacons 
and  flaring  torches  which  blazed  on  all  sides,  and  were  fed,  not 
with  material  fuel,  but  with  the  burning  passions  of  the  spirits 
around  me. 

What  had  become  of  the  Souls,  the  immortal  parts  of  those 


206  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

who  had  contended  in  the  battles  I  had  witnessed  I  knew  not, 
but  the  mangled  remains  of  their  spirit  bodies  strewed  the  Arena 
in  all  directions.  For  Mortals  must  know,  that  while  the  Soul 
is  the  truly  immortal  and  indestructible  part  of  man  (or  animal 
or  plant),  the  mere  body  in  which  it  is  clothed  for  the  time  being, 
whether  it  be  the  body  of  the  Earthly  stage  of  life,  or  the  more 
ethereal  envelope  that  enfolds  it  during  the  so-called  spiritual 
stages  of  existence,  is  in  no  sense  lasting.  The  body  can  be 
destroyed  in  Spirit  life  as  in  Earth  life,  and  its  entire  destruc- 
tion is  in  truth  its  Death,  for  it  and  the  Soul  can  never  be  united 
again  once  they  are  separated,  and  a  body  deprived  of  its  vivi- 
fying Soul  must  disintegrate  and  be  resolved  again  into  the 
atoms  of  which  it  was  formed.  If  the  body  of  a  Spirit  be  so 
battered  and  bruised,  so  rent  in  pieces  that  it  can  no  longer  serve 
to  shelter  the  Soul,  then  by  a  violent  severance  between  the  two 
the  Soul  is  freed  from  the  Spirit  body,  just  as  it  would  be  freed 
from  the  Earth  body,  and  passes  into  yet  another  stage  of  its 
existence,  there  to  re-clothe  itself  in  a  fresh  body  taken  from  the 
elements  that  compose  the  new  sphere  in  which  it  finds  itself. 

The  natural  life  of  the  Earth  body  is  by  far  the  shortest  in 
duration,  and  a  Spirit  body  of  any  sphere  may  often  continue 
for  centuries  to  serve  as  the  envelope  of  its  Soul,  that  is,  if  the 
Soul  remains  in  a  state  of  development  suitable  only  for  that 
particular  sphere.  As  soon,  however,  as  the  Soul  is  ready  for 
a  higher  stage  of  life  it  must  cast  off  its  envelope,  be  it  of  the 
Earth  or  Spirit  spheres,  even  as  a  nut  casts  off  its  outer  husk 
that  the  kernel  within  may  be  free  to  expand  and  grow. 

With  some  Souls  these  processes  of  deaths,  from  that  of  the 
Earth  body  onward,  are  gentle  and  gradual,  and  only  like  pass- 
ing through  a  quiet  sleep,  to  arise  in  a  new  sphere  clothed  in 
the  new  body  of  the  Soul.  With  others,  the  body  is  shattered 
by  violence,  and  torn  from  the  Soul  amidst  suffering  and  strug- 
gle. Yet  in  all  cases  the  result  to  the  mere  body  is  the  same: 
it  goes  to  its  decay  and  death,  while  the  Soul  it  hath  released 
passes  onward  to  a  new  stage  of  its  immortality. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Death  reigns  in  the  Spirit  World 
over  the  Spiritual  envelope  of  the  Soul,  even  as  he  reigns  on 
Earth  over  the  Earthly  body.  And  as  the  Earthly  body  is  des- 
tined to  return  to  the  elements  of  the  Earth  in  the  form  of  dust, 
so  does  the  spiritual  envelope  return  to  the  elements  of  each 
sphere  from  which  it  was  taken. 


THE   STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  207 

Let  not  those  who  may  read  this  story  of  my  life  and  wan- 
derings in  the  Spirit  world  wonder  that  I  should  describe  the 
Deaths  of  Spirits.  I  describe  but  the  deaths  of  their 
bodies,  as  I  might  describe  the  death  of  a  mortal  body 
on  Earth.  Death  hath  no  dominion  over  the  Soul  in  Earth 
or  Spirit  life,  but  because  the  sight  of  one  clothed  in  the  gar- 
ments of  Mortality,  or  of  some  particular  sphere,  cannot  follow 
the  flight  of  the  Soul  as  it  leaves  the  envelope  which  Death  hath 
just  claimed  for  its  own,  it  hath  been  imagined  by  some  that 
the  Soul  exists  not,  and  that  all  there  was  of  the  friend  we  loved, 
or  the  foe  we  hated,  lies  in  the  poor  rigid  form  which  Death 
hath  touched  and  turned  into  decay. 

I  knew  the  body  to  be  a  mere  shell.  My  studies  had  taught 
me  that  it  was  in  all  respects  distinct  from  my  true  self.  I  had 
parted  with  one  body  already.  I  cared  not  to  linger  in  so  fearful 
a  sphere  as  this  in  which  I  now  found  myself,  and  yet,  so  strong 
is  the  attachment  between  the  Soul  and  its  envelope,  so  great 
the  tenacity  with  which  the  two  cling  together,  that  as  I  faced 
that  bloody  scene  of  carnage  and  thought  I  also  was  doomed 
to  such  a  death  as  that  of  those  whose  remains  I  saw  before 
me,  I  grasped  yet  more  firmly  the  means  of  escape  which  Man- 
sur  had  given  me,  and  turned  to  face  the  Prince  of  Darkness, 
strong  in  my  determination  not  to  yield  to  him  one  inch,  until 
I  should  be  literally  overborne  by  his  superior  power. 

As  I  raised  my  eyes  to  look  upon  the  Dark  Angel  I  saw  that 
the  pillars  which  upheld  the  canopy  above  his  head  were  formed 
of  men's  bodies,  round  which  huge  serpents  had  twisted  their 
supple  forms,  and  as  they  met  my  gaze  each  serpent  opened 
its  jaws  and  shot  out  at  me  its  forked  tongue,  charged  with  deadly 
poison,  while  their  green  eyes  glittered  with  the  reflection  of 
their  Master's  hatred. 

As  for  the  King  of  Evil  himself,  he  rose  to  his  feet,  and  point- 
ing at  me  said  in  a  voice  of  scornful  anger: 

" Behold,  now,  I  have  prepared  a  fresh  diversion  for  ye  all, 
for  this  man  is  no  common  knave,  like  unto  those  wretched 
beings  whom  my  beasts  have  torn  to  pieces.  This  is  one  whose 
thoughts  soar  to  Heaven  and  fall  back  into  Hell.  This  is  a 
man  who  thought  himself  fit  to  be  a  King,  yea,  even  a  King  in 
Hell!  Oh,  Ye  Powers  of  Darkness,  think  of  it!  Imagine  this 
man  thinking  to  reign  over  aught  that  lives  in  these  vile  lands, 
when  already  his  heart  sickens  at  the  sight  of  yonder  fair  scene 


208  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

before  us !  When  he  hath  not  strength  of  purpose  strong  enough 
to  resist  a  woman's  scream  of  anguish!  He  asked  to  reign, 
and,  behold,  I  gave  him  yonder  dark  solitary  pit  for  his  King- 
dom! the  only  spot  here  over  which  he  was  fit  to  reign.  He 
offered  me  his  service,  his  faithful  service,  if  I  would  grant  him 
his  revenge,  and,  behold,  already  he  repents  him  of  his  bargain, 
and  thinks  how  he  may  escape  from  me.  What  value,  think  ye, 
hath  the  service  of  such  a  man?  He  vowed  to  fight  for  me  as 
a  soldier  serves  his  general,  but  what  use  could  I  make  of  so 
craven  a  Soul?  With  whom  can  I  set  him  to  contend,  save 
these  lower  brutes,  to  which  his  carcass  may  serve  as  a  play- 
thing and  a  meal ! " 

He  stamped  his  foot,  and  instantly  six  savage  tigers  rose 
through  the  ground  and  rushed  at  me.  But  I  pointed  at  them 
my  finger,  whereon  there  rested  the  point  of  the  little  wand, 
and  they  crouched  down  before  me,  growling  but  submissive, 
watching  me  as  a  cat  watches  a  bird,  yet  not  daring  to  advance 
one  step.  In  vain  did  the  dark  spirits  crowd  round  and  goad 
them  on.  In  vain  did  they  strive  to  reach  me  themselves.  A 
wall  seemed  to  surround  me  like  a  ring,  and  while  I  kept  my 
determination,  and  held  fast  by  the  wand,  none  could  pass. 
They  hurled  themselves  at  me;  they  flung  spears;  they  tried  to 
float  above  me  and  drop  huge  stones  and  masses  of  burning 
metal.  The  demoniacal  spectators  literally  yelled  with  joy  and 
excitement  at  the  unexpected  sport.  Multitude  after  multitude 
of  the  Dark  Angel's  followers  gathered  round  me,  and  above 
me,  and  sought  to  break  through  the  mystic  ring  and  tear  me  to 
pieces.  Hordes  of  wild  beasts,  and  men  as  savage,  gathered 
from  all  sides,  and  it  required  all  the  power  of  my  will  to  hold 
them  at  bay  and  retain  my  grasp  of  the  wonderful  wand.  But 
the  taunting  words  of  the  Dark  Angel  had  aroused  the  spirit  of 
the  warrior  within  me,  and  I  felt  that  I  hurled  defiance  at  his 
head  every  time  he  sought  to  beat  down  my  determination  with 
his  own. 

In  a  voice  hoarse  with  passion,  he  called  for  legion  upon 
legion  of  his  dark  hosts,  and  against  them  all  the  invisible  ring 
around  me  remained  impregnable. 

Suddenly  a  thought  struck  the  Dark  Angel,  and  with  a  fear- 
ful cry  of  rage  he  called  for  the  unfortunate  Mansur  to  be  brought 
before  him. 

"Vile  Caitiff!"  he  cried,   "this  is  thy  doing!    Thou  hast 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRNIZIMAN  209 

given  unto  this  man  some  secret  power  that  enables  him  to  defy 
me  thus.  I  cannot  discern  what  it  is,  for  a  light  like  unto  a 
diamond  Star  cometh  ever  between  us,  but  I  know  that  from 
thine  hand  the  gift  has  come.  It  is  thou,  traitor,  who  hath 
dealt  me  this  blow,  and  thus  do  I.  reward  thee:  let  thy  body  be 
torn  limb  from  limb  by  these  creatures  that  thy  pupil  yonder 
doth  defy,  and  may  thy  wretched  carcass  be  strewn  as  dust  over 
this  dark  plain,  for  thou  art  no  longer  fit  to  serve  me." 

The  unfortunate  Mansur,  who  had  been  whirled  into  the 
presence  of  his  Master  by  the  violence  of  the  will  that  summoned 
him,  cast  one  despairing  glance  at  me,  and  uttered  one  sharp 
cry  of  horror.  The  next  instant  he  was  engulfed  in  the  awful 
sea  of  diabolical  beings,  and  ere  I  could  collect  my  thoughts, 
or  make  one  effort  to  save  him,  he  was  literally  torn  into  a  thou- 
sand pieces  before  mine  eyes,  the  horrible  creatures  \vho  had 
slain  him  fighting  with  each  other  over  every  fragment.  I  tried 
to  rush  to  his  rescue,  and  I  held  out  the  potent  wand  before  me 
to  try  to  clear  a  passage,  but  it  was  all  over  in  a  moment  before 
I  could  advance  more  than  a  step,  and  the  only  effect  of  my 
agitated  effort  was  to  break  the  spell  around  myself,  and  leave 
me  for  the  moment  defenceless. 

Before  the  dreadful  devils  who  had  destroyed  Mansur  could 
take  advantage  of  this,  however,  the  Dark  Angel  with  the  Green 
Star  interposed  on  my  behalf,  and  proposed  to  his  companion 
that  they  should  try  their  skill  at  chess,  in  order  to  decide  who 
was  to  dispose  of  me. 

"Behold,  this  man  hath  made  a  good  fight,"  said  he.  "He 
hath  qualities  not  unworthy  of  a  foe's  steel.  I  will  play  thee 
for  his  Soul,  and  if  I  win  thou  shalt  hand  him  over  to  serve  me." 

"Nay,  he  shall  be  my  slave;  he  shall  labor  in  the  depths  of 
this  earth  sphere  till  that  haughty  spirit  which  defied  even  my 
power  be  broken,  and  he  owns  me  as  Master.  I  will  not  play 
thee  for  him,"  replied  the  still  furious  Angel  of  the  Red  Star. 

The  other  fixed  his  steely  eyes  upon  his  companion's  face, 
and  said:  "Thou  dost  forget.  His  vow  was  to  serve  thee  as  a 
soldier,  not  as  a  slave.  I  pray  thee  re-consider  thy  determina- 
tion not  to  play  for  him,  for  thou  canst  not  enslave  him,  thou 
canst  only  make  him  serve  thee  as  a  soldier  serves.  Pie  belongs 
not  to  thy  Kingdom,  save  in  as  much  as  he  voluntarily  sold  him- 
self to  thee:  thou  canst  but  claim  the  measure  of  thy  bargain 
from  him." 


2io  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

The  Angel  of  the  Red  Star  rose  from  his  seat  once  more, 
and  casting  down  what  looked  to  me  like  his  javelin  at  the  feet 
of  the  Angel  of  the  Green  Star,  he  cried  out: 

"Be  it  so!  Since  thou  hast  thought  fit  to  question  the  limits 
of  my  power  we  will  even  play  our  game  for  this  man's  body; 
for  his  Soul  thou  thyself  doth  say  we  cannot  play,  but  for  the 
possession  of  his  body,  and  for  the  right  to  such  service  as  he 
can  be  forced  to  give,  we  will  even  play.  Let  the  one  who  wins 
take  him,  and  then  let  us  fight,  not  with  these  paltry  toys  in  mere 
sport,  but  in  deadly  earnest,  that  we  may  test  whether  thou  or 
I  are  the  stronger  Angel  here;  whether  I  shall  take  instruction 
from  thee  as  to  what  I  can  do,  or  whether  thou  shalt  learn  to 
keep  silence  when  I  have  issued  my  decrees." 

The  other  Spirit  frowned  angrily,  as  he  stooped  to  pick  up 
the  gage,  then  thrusting  his  own  javelin  into  the  head  of  the 
bronze  figure  of  a  winged  beast  which  supported  the 'throne  of 
the  Angel  of  the -fiery  Star,  he  said: 

"Let  my  weapon  rest  there  till  I  come  as  a  Conqueror  over 
thee,  to  pluck  thee  from  thy  seat,  and  teach  thee  that  thou  dost 
not  reign  as  the  sole  King  of  Hell." 

The  fiery  Crown  of  the  Angel  addressed  seemed  to  glow  like 
a  circlet  of  white-hot  steel,  and  dart  out  its  flames  like  arrows  to 
stab  the  other  while  he  spoke,  but  he  himself  said  nothing,  but 
only  signed  with  the  old  haughty  majesty  of  manner  to  his  foe 
to  seat  himself  again  to  begin  their  game. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  BATTLE  AND  MY  FATE;  THE   SECOND  DEATH 

I  shall  not  enter  into  all  the  details  of  the  game  the  two  Dark 
Angels  played,  as  each  contended  with  almost  equal  skill.  At 
last  a  slight  chance  decided  the  contest  in  favor  of  the  Angel 
of  the  Green  Star. 

While  the  game  was  in  progress  I  had  remained  unmolested 
at  the  foot  of  the  steps  leading  up  to  the  throne,  while  the  enor- 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  211 

mous  mass  of  horrible  spirits  who  had  torn  my  poor  friend  Man- 
sur  to  pieces,  hung  like  a  cloud  of  evil  vultures  around  me. 

The  moment  the  contest  was  decided  a  yell  of  disappoint- 
ment and  rage  rent  the  air,  and  the  Arena  was  invaded  from  all 
sides  by  dark  spirits,  eager  to  take  part  in  the  approaching  battle. 

With  a  gesture  of  haughty  contempt  the  defeated  Angel  signed 
to  me  to  take  my  place  under  the  banner  of  my  new  commander, 
who  was  already  summoning  around  him  his  own  army  of  fol- 
lowers. They  were  easily  distinguished  from -  the  followers  of 
the  Dark  Angel  of  the  Red  Star,  for  each  spirit  bore  a  spark  of 
green  light  like  the  Star  worn  by  their  King,  while  those  who 
followed  the  Angel  of  the  Blood  Red  Star  carried  little  sparks 
of  crimson  light. 

As  the  Angels  parted  with  looks  of  hatred  and  defiance,  I 
saw  two  magnificent  winged  horses  appear  for  them  to  ride,  the 
size  of  the  wings  symbolising  the  all-soaring  ambition  of  their 
riders. 

When  the  two  leaders  had  mounted  these  singular  steeds  a 
troop  of  horses,  also  winged  but  with  much  smaller  wings,  were 
led  out,  and  upon  them  were  mounted  the  different  generals  of 
both  sides.  Only  one  horse  had  no  rider,  and  to  my  surprise 
it  v:as  led  up  to  me,  and  I  was  directed  by  my  new  Master  to 
mount  upon  its  back. 

"Thou  hast  an  ambition  to  be  a  leader  as  great  as  are  any 
of  us,"  said  he.  "Take  then  this  winged  steed  and  see  that 
thou  fight  for  me  in  a  fashion  worthy  of  the  gift." 

I  bowed  to  him  in  reply,  and  as  I  vaulted  onto  the  horse's 
back  the  pleasure  of  finding  myself  once  more  in  possession  of 
one  of  those  noble  animals  almost  made  me  for  the  moment 
forget  the  horrors  of  my  position  and  surroundings. 

At  a  signal  from  the  leader,  the  army  of  Dark  Spirits  to  which 
I  was  now  attached  drew  off  from  the  city  which  they  had  en- 
tered as  invited  guests,  and  took  up  a  position  upon  the  vast 
black  plains  beyond.  As  we  rode  out  under  the  ponderous 
dark  gateways  I  saw  that  the  citizen  spirits  were  engaged  in  all 
the  preparations  for  withstanding  a  siege  at  our  hands.  If  mere 
hatred  could  have  killed,  the  glances  of  furious  malignity  which 
they  cast  upon  us,  and  which  our  side  gave  back  to  them,  would 
have  brought  the  contest  to  a  speedy  issue.  The  spirit  in  which 
men  on  Earth  enter  upon  such  a  conflict  is  amity  itself  compared 
to  that  which  is  aroused  in  those  dark  spheres,  where  the  passions 


212  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

that  lead  to  warfare  and  bloodshed  rage  with  the  fury  of  mad- 
ness, and  kindle  around  them  the  fierce  flames  of  an  almost 
universal  conflagration  which  spreads  on  all  sides  with  the  rapid- 
ity of  a  forest  fire,  and  stays  not  its  destroying  march  till  con- 
querors and  conquered  alike  are  consumed  in  its  fiery  clutches, 
and  the  vast  confines  of  that  mighty  sphere  are  strewn  from  end 
to  end  with  the  dry  ashes  of  the  lives  these  fires  of  passion  have 
consumed,  and  those  who  survive  the  conflict  reign  over  an  almost 
depopulated  territory,  till  the  constant  influx  of  evil  Spirits  from 
the  Earthly  life  peoples  their  Kingdoms  once  more. 

The  constant  ebb  and  flow  of  life  into  and  out  of  these  dark 
spheres  which  is  thus  caused  serves  to  release  many  of  the  un- 
happy beings,  and  suffers  them  to  pass  into  a  state  where  their 
repentance  may  bear  its  fruits,  and  where,  taught  by  their  own 
sufferings,  they  may  learn  pity  towards  those  of  others,  and 
mercy  for  those  who  are  in  their  power. 

I  should  but  sicken  and  disgust  all  who  may  read  this  story 
were  I  to  attempt  to  give  any  picture  of  the  horrors  of  the  fight 
which  I  now  witnessed.  Let  men  imagine  to  themselves  what  all 
the  horrors  of  war  on  Earth  really  mean,  and  then  add  ten-fold 
to  their  atrocity  and  their  frightful  cruelty,  and  still  their  visions 
will  fall  far  short  of  the  awful  realities  of  the  sights  I  beheld. 
Passions  that  were  totally  unbridled;  hatred  that  was  as  deep 
as  Hell  itself;  a  savage  bestial  brutality  that  was  even  below 
that  of  the  brute  creation;  a  thirst  for  each  other's  blood  which 
was  appalling;  a  destructive  force  of  magnetic  wrath  that  shat- 
tered all  around  with  a  violence  greater  than  that  of  the  most 
powerful  explosive  known  on  Earth  in  these  latter  days;  a  heat 
of  anger  that  literally  kindled  into  flame  the  very  atmosphere, 
and  a  strength  of  determination  to  conquer  that  bore  down  all 
before  it.  These  marked  the  struggle,  and  were  almost  equally 
balanced  between  the  two  evil  Angels,  and  kept  the  tide  of  battle 
swaying  first  in  favor  of  one  and  then  of  the  other. 

Not  as  men  fight  on  Earth,  with  spears  and  javelins,  with 
swords  and  daggers,  did  these  combatants  and  their  soldiers 
fight.  I  found  that  the  weapons  they  wore  were  merely  orna- 
ments, and  counterparts  worn  because  they  had  been  used  on 
Earth.  As  soon  as  the  battle  began  in  earnest  the  weapons  were 
flung  aside,  and  they  assailed  each  other  with  tooth  and  claw,  as  do 
the  lower  animals,  so  great  was  their  hunger  to  come  into  personal 
touch  with  their  enemy,  and  rend  them  as  a  tiger  rends  his  prey. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  213 

As  for  me,  such  warfare  utterly  revolted  me.  I  was  borne 
forward  in  the  first  charge  upon  our  enemies,  and  then,  as  the 
rival  armies  of  dark  spirits  grappled  with  each  other,  uttering 
wild  cries  of  ferocious  hate  that  made  the  very  canopy  of  Hell 
resound  with  the  blasphemous  imprecations,  as  the  tongues  of 
magnetic  flame,  like  spears  of  fire,  darted  around  the  struggling 
mass  of  combatants,  and  scorched  and  burnt  like  red  hot  knives, 
I  was  swept  from  my  winged  steed  like  a  force  like  a  perfect 
tornado  of  savage  hate.  I  saw  the  Dark  Angel  standing  up  in 
his  stirrups,  and  hurling  upon  me  the  lightning  of  his  wrath, 
the  thunder  bolts  of  his  destroying  power,  and  then  the  great 
mass  of  spirits  closed  around  me  and  trampled  over  my  body, 
fighting  and  wrestling  with  each  other  and  stamping  on  my 
prostrate  form,  till  oblivion  fell  upon  my  senses  and  I  knew 
no  more. 

Thus  for  the  second  time  did  Death  the  Great  Deliverer 
unlock  for  me  the  portals  of  a  new  life. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MY   WHITE   ANGEL 

When  I  awakened  to  consciousness  again  I  was  lying  in  the 
middle  of  a  barren  plain,  and  in  the  far  horizon  there  was  a 
faint  light  like  the  first  streak  of  dawn  in  the  night  sky.  Around 
me  the  ground  presented  the  appearance  of  the  crater  of  a  vol- 
cano, wrhose  fires  have  died  out  but  whose  cinders  are  yet  warm 
with  the  fire  that  once  kindled  them  into  life.  No  living  being 
was  near  me.  I  was  absolutely  alone,  and  as  I  arose,  and 
shading  my  eyes  with  my  hand  looked  towards  the  dawning 
light,  I  became  conscious  that  some  strange  change  had  passed 
over  myself. 

My  form  was  bent  like  that  of  an  old  man;  I  could  not 
straighten  myself  up,  and  my  hands,  as  I  examined  them,  were 
shrunken  and  wrinkled  as  by  extreme  old  age.  I  passed  my 
hands  over  my  head,  and  lo!  I  was  as  bald  as  an  infant.  My 
luxuriant  black  beard  was  gone;  also  my  features  felt  sharp,  arid 
my  cheeks  like  hollow  caves. 


214          THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

Startled  and  uneasy,  I  turned  to  look  for  some  sream  in 
which  to  behold  myself,  and  saw  near  my  feet  a  deep  dark  pool, 
whose  black  waters  reflected  like  a  mirror  my  face  and  form. 

Alas!  Yes,  it  was  even  as  I  feared.  All  trace  of  youth  had 
left  me;  my  wasted,  almost  fleshless,  form  was  that  of  an  old 
man;  my  hollow  eyes  were  dim  and  sunken,  my  hands  feeble  and 
shaking  as  though  palsied,  and  my  body  bent  and  my  steps  slow 
and  faltering. 

In  my  surprise  and  horror  I  cried  aloud  to  know  the  meaning 
of  this  change,  and  like  a  distant  echo  a  woman's  soft  voice 
replied  to  me: 

"Oh,  my  Son!  My  Son!  thou  didst  live  in  thy  short  life  of 
Earth  and  in  the  Dark  sphere  through  an  amount  of  passion 
and  experience  which  comes  to  most  men  only  with  age.  Thou 
didst  consume  thy  youth  with  fierce  desires,  and  thy  manhood 
with  thy  hunger  for  revenge,  and  the  flames  of  thy  passions 
have  burnt  up  the  youth  of  thy  Soul  and  withered  up  the  beauty 
of  thy  Spirit  form,  so  that  there  is  naught  left  but  the  dry  husk 
of  an  old  man's  form.  Yet,  Oh,  My  Son,  my  beloved  Son!  If 
upon  the  scorched  plain  which  the  fierce  fires  of  Earth  have 
devastated  there  springs  up  anew  a  fresher  tenderer  foliage,  a 
finer,  purer  vegetation,  shall  not  the  wilderness  of  thy  Soul 
blossom  into  fresh  life,  and  the  dry  ashes  of  thy  dead  past  be 
hid  by  the  fair  flowers  whose  seeds  thou  mayest  yet  sow  even 
in  the  sad  earth  of  this,  the  Sphere  of  Remorse  and  Repentance? 
Thy  tears  of  sorrow  shall  water  this  dry  soil.  Thy  hands  shall 
labor  in  its  fields  until  yonder  streak  of  palest  dawn  shall  change 
to  glorious  day,  and  the  bare  land  around  shall  blossom  with  the 
sweet  roses  of  tenderness  and  love. 

"I  cannot  come  to  thee,  my  son,  but  thou  shalt  climb  the 
rugged  path  which  leads  to  me,  and  in  a  fair  land  of  golden 
Hope  thou  and  I  shall  enjoy  the  tender  joys  of  the  love  thou  hast 
never  known.  Fare  thee  well,  yet  think  not  that  I  leave  thee 
save  only  for  a  time.  Fare  thee  well." 

The  sweet  voice  died  away,  and  as  it  faded  I  called  and 
called  to  my  White  Angel  to  show  me  but  one  glimpse  of  her 
dear  form.  Then  upon  the  dark  background  of  the  sky  I  saw 
a  faint  flickering  reflection,  so  pale,  so  shadowy  it  was  like  a 
figure  traced  in  mist,  yet  I  knew  it  to  be  my  sweet  Mother's 
lovely  form,  and  as  with  joy  I  saluted  it  it  faded  gradually  away, 
and  I  stood  upon  the  dark  plain  once  more  alone. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  215 

Wearily  and  sadly  did  I  wander  on  and  on  through  that 
barren  land.  No  fair  flowers  gladdened  my  eyes;  no  green  tree 
afforded  me  the  sense  of  shelter;  no  fresh  stream  of  living  water 
sparkled  forth  to  slake  my  thirst,  no  sweet  fruits  to  stay  my 
hunger.  All  was  desolate,  blossomless,  fruitless,  and  lonely. 

At  last  I  reached  the  foot  of  a  low  range  of  hills,  and  as,  after 
many  a  stumble  and  many  a  slip  I  dragged  my  feeble  limbs  by 
rugged  rock-strewn  pathways  to  the  top  of  them,  I  saw  far  below 
me  on  the  further  side  a  still  grey  sea,  whose  quiet  waves  lapped 
gently  on  the  sandy  shores  with  a  faint  murmur  that  was  sooth- 
ing to  my  weary  heart.  The  grey  streak  of  dawn  was  still  be- 
fore me  on  the  horizon  of  that  strange  sea,  and  clouds  of  pale 
grey  mist  like  wandering  shadows  chased  each  other  slowly 
across  the  darkened  sky. 

As  I  sat  resting  upon  the  hilltop  faint  pictures  began  to  appear 
between  me  and  the  grey  floating  clouds,  even  as  in  the  far-off 
days  of  my  boyhood  the  fair  visions  of  my  youth  had  done  when 
I  had  lain  upon  some  grassy  hill  and  watched  the  evening  sky. 

Dim  at  first,  the  pictures  grew  gradually  clearer,  and  I  recog- 
nized that  they  showed  to  me  the  drama  of  my  life. 

I  saw  not  alone  the  events  of  my  Earth  existence,  but  the 
subtle  influences  of  the  Spirit  world  that  were  at  work  to  mould 
each  thought  and  shape  each  action.  I  saw  my  Father  and  my 
Mother  as  they  met  at  first:  he  surrounded  by  all  the  influences 
of  the  ambitious  Conqueror,  the  Angel  of  the  Blood  Red  Star 
and  his  cohort  of  fierce  followers  who  had  hovered  around  the 
battlefields  of  Earth,  and  shared  in  the  excitement  of  each  contest. 

Then  I  saw  my  Mother,  as  one  enveloped  in  a  veil  of  silver 
gossamer,  the  pure  spirits  of  the  Silver  Star  surrounding  her 
like  a  cloud  of  white  Angels,  with  outspread  protecting  wings. 
I  saw  her  drawn  within  the  influence  of  my  Father's  surround- 
ings, and  shadowed  by  the  dark  wings  of  the  destroying  Angel, 
while  with  bowed  heads  and  drooping  pinions  the  White  Angels 
seemed  to  hover  sadly  near  her. 

I  saw  Queen  Artemisia,  and  I  read  in  her  heart  all  the  pas- 
sionate sense  of  injustice,  of  slighted  love,  of  wounded  pride, 
that  raged  like  a  tempest,  and  I  beheld  the  Dark  Angel  as  he 
bent  and  whispered  in  her  ear. 

I  saw  my  Father,  beset  by  his  love  and  his  anxiety,  building 
the  fatal  secret  passage,  and  cementing  its  secrecy  with  the 
blood  of  the  poor  slave  he  had  caused  to  be  murdered.  I  saw 


2i6  THF  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

the  exultant  face  of  the  Dark  Spirit  as  he  welcomed  this  miser- 
able victim  of  the  King's  suspicious  fears  to  his  dominion,  to 
use  him  as  a  tool  to  help  on  the  drama  with  which  he  was  amusing 
himself.  I  saw  it  progress  step  by  step  as  the  ill-concealed 
devotion  to  my  Mother  fanned  the  flame  of  Artemisia's  wrath 
to  a  yet  fiercer  glow. 

I  saw  my  Mother's  death  and  my  own  birth,  and  noted  that 
while  her  pure  Soul  was  borne  away  by  the  White  Angels  to 
their  sphere,  the  shadow  of  the  Dark  Angel's  wings  rested  upon 
the  child  that  was  half  her's  and  half  El  Jazid's  son. 

I  saw  that  as  I  grew  to  manhood  the  restless  desires,  the 
selfishly  ambitious  hopes,  the  instinct  to  rule  over  my  fellows 
and  force  them  to  give  me  the  lion's  share  of  everything,  sprang 
up  like  giant  weeds  and  twined  around  the  delicate  shoots  of 
pure  and  holy  thoughts  which  the  Angels  of  the  snow  white 
Silver  Star  had  sown  ere  I  was  born,  side  by  side  with  the  seeds 
of  evil  sown  by  the  Dark  Angels.  I  saw  the  pure  Spirits  striving 
through  the  medium  of  the  good  Priest  Abubatha  to  turn  my 
thoughts  from  earthly  joys,  and  I  saw  that  as  men  play  a  game 
of  chess  with  the  light  and  dark  pieces  to  represent  the  forces 
they  control,  so  did  the  light  and  dark  Angels  strive  for  possession 
of  my  Soul,  each  limited  in  every  act  and  every  move  they  made 
by  the  unalterable  laws  of  the  Spirit  World,  in  accordance  with 
which  all  the  Universe  is  upheld. 

I  saw  the  inducements  of  the  one  set  of  Spirits  presented  to 
my  mind,  and  then  the  counter-attractions  of  the  other,  and 
noted  how  the  inherited  tendencies  of  my  nature  inclined  the 
balance  to  the  one  side  or  the  other;  and  because  I  was  the  son 
of  El  Jazid  the  Warrior,  rather  than  the  son  of  Cynthia  the 
dreamy  enthusiast,  I  saw  the  scale  of  my  desires  weigh  down 
towards  the  Dark  Angel  and  the  gifts  he  held  in  his  hand. 

Every  little  incident  of  my  life  was  reproduced,  and  when  I 
came  to  the  scene  wherein  I  had  stood  beneath  the  date  trees  in 
the  Desert  at  the  parting  of  the  ways,  I  saw  that  the  fair  Spirit 
of  my  Mother  had  stood  at  the  end  of  the  shining  path,  and 
pointed  out  to  me  the  Palace  of  Parsagherd,  and  the  Father 
who  mourned  ever  for  me  as  one  dead  and  lost  to  him;  but  before 
I  could  see  that  tender  Mother's  Spirit  the  Dark  Angel  had 
drawn  his  mantle  between  mine  eyes  and  the  fair  vision,  and 
had  turned  my  thoughts  to  him  and  to  the  dark  mysteries  he 
offered  to  unveil. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  217 

I  beheld  that  the  scales  of  Good  and  Evil  weighed  down 
and  down  on  the  side  of  darkness,  till  I  sank  down  into  a  dark 
gulf.  And  for  a  time  I  could  see  no  more. 

But  methought  that  the  White  Angels  bowed  their  heads 
and  veiled  their  faces  as  though  they  wept  for  the  Soul  that  had 
sunk  down,  and  I  bowed  mine  own  head  and  wept  bitter  tears 
of  shame  as  I  thought  on  the  deep  degradation  of  the  life  I  had 
led  with  Jelal-ud-din,  and  the  gross  desires  of  my  animal  Soul 
to  which  I  had  yielded  when  I  had  followed  the  darkened  path- 
way by  his  side. 


How  long  I  mourned  over  my  sins  I  know  not,  but  when  at 
last  I  uncovered  my  head  and  looked  up  I  saw  that  the  pictures 
of  my  life  were  visible  once  more. 

I  now  observed  the  figure  of  Mansur  hovering  around  Jelal- 
ud-din  and  myself,  inspiring  our  thoughts  and  controlling  our 
actions,  and  at  times  taking  possession  of  Jelal-ud -din's  body 
and  using  it  as  though  it  was  the  mortal  envelope  of  his  own 
Spirit.  Thus  he  seemed  to  enjoy  again  and  again  all  the  sen- 
sual pleasures  of  the  Earth  life,  and  this  I  knew  to  be  his  meaning 
when  he  had  told  me  in  the  Dark  Sphere  that  for  the  gratification 
of  his  base  desires  he  had  dragged  down  the  Soul  of  Jelal-ud-din 
to  his  own  level. 

Me  I  saw  that  he  could  not  thus  control.  My  body  he  could 
not  enter,  even  when  he  had  withdrawn  the  Spirit  from  it,  but 
as  again  and  again  I  yielded  to  the  temptations  to  degrade  my- 
self, I  saw  with  a  shudder  that  the  barrier  that  kept  him  back 
from  my  body  grew  thinner  and  thinner.  Terrible  as  I  had 
thought  the  stamp  of  evil  which  the  countenance  of  Mansur 
wore  when  I  beheld  him  in  the  Spirit  World,  it  appeared  even 
more  terrible  to  my  thoughts  now  when  I  perceived  that  it  had 
been  his  influence  which  was  dragging  Jelal-ud-din  and  myself 
down  and  down  to  the  dark  Kingdoms. 

I  thought  of  the  strange  contradictions  of  the  man's  character 
and  the  curious  things  he  had  told  me,  and  I  wondered  whether 
they  had  been  true  or  false. 

As  if  in  answer  to  my  thoughts,  a  voice  within  me  replied 
that  in  all  which  he  had  told  me  he  had  spoken  the  truth,  for 
while  the  animal  Soul  of  the  man  had  grown  so  strong  with  over- 
indulgence that  it  acted  as  an  almost  hopeless  clog  upon  all  the 


2i8  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

efforts  of  the  higher  Soul  to  rise  into  the  pure  atmosphere  of 
truth,  yet  the  innate  love  for  truth  which  dominated  him  in  all 
those  things  which  pertained  to  this  animal  Soul  enabled  him  to 
recognise  a  scientific  truth  when  it  was  presented  to  his  mind, 
and  to  sift  from  it  all  those  husks  of  error  which  it  had  gathered 
in  the  Earth  and  lower  spheres.  Thus  on  the  pathways  of  knowl- 
edge he  was  truly  an  "efficient  guide,  while  on  those  of  morality 
his  controlling  influence  led  only  to  destruction. 

I  then  asked  where  was  Mansur?  What  was  the  fate  of  his 
Soul? 

A  dark  shadow,  black  as  a  cloud  of  night,  appeared  on  the 
grey  background  of  the  sky,  and  showed  the  bent  form  of  a  man 
whose  head  was  bowed  unto  the  earth,  while  his  clasped  hands 
were  held  aloft  in  supplication  unto  Heaven. 

Page  by  page,  picture  by  picture  did  my  life's  story  unroll 
itself  before  mine  eyes,  showing  me  how  mine  own  actions  had 
influenced  the  lives  around  me,  and  been  influenced  in  turn  by 
them,  and  how  that  ceaseless  contest  between  the  light  and  dark 
Angels  caused  first  the  one  side  of  man's  nature  and  then  the  other 
to  be  influenced  and  developed,  and  how  the  indulgence  of  man's 
passions  caused  the  scales  of  good  or  evil  to  rise  or  fall. 

The  passionate  Artemisia,  dominated  entirely  by  her  desire 
for  revenge,  flitted  across  the  pictures  like  a  restless  accursed  Fury, 
her  absorption  in  the  one  idea  stunting  all  the  other  faculties  of 
her  mind  till  its  balance  was  destroyed,  and  that  inharmony  of 
thought  was  produced  which  men  term  insanity.  I  saw  with  a 
keen  pang  of  remorse  how  my  hatred  had  fed  hers,  and  heaped  fresh 
fuel  upon  the  furnace  of  her  angry  passions,  till  the  death  of  her 
son  at  my  hands  had  snapped  the  last  link  between  her  and  the 
power  of  sober  reasoning,  and  she  had  in  veritable  truth  not  been 
responsible  for  her  actions  when  she  had  shut  Zuleika  into  the 
secret  passage  and  sat  dabbling  her  hands  in  my  life's  blood. 

I  realized  through  what  an  awful  agony  of  suffering  Artemisia 
had  passed  ere  she  reached  that  last  stage,  and  I  saw  how  dark 
and  evil  had  been  my  own  thirst  for  revenge  upon  the  unhappy 
mother.  When  the  picture  appeared  in  which  I  had  gathered 
around  the  unfortunate  Selim  the  tormenting  demons  of  the  dark 
spheres,  I  saw  a  ray  of  light  as  from  a  star  dart  down  to  me,  and 
the  form  of  my  own  Mother  appear  as  though  she  stood  afar  off 
and  with  clasped  hands  and  eyes  full  of  tears  plead  to  me  to  think 
of  her,  and  of  what  motherhood  meant  to  woman,  and  bidding 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN          219 

me,  by  the  sacred  ness  of  my  own  mother's  sufferings,  to  spare 
this  poor  mother  whose  son  was  in  my  power  one  further  pang 
of  suffering  at  my  hands. 

The  full,  deep  meaning  of  the  picture  was  clear  to  my  senses 
now,  and  I  saw  not  alone  one  woman  pleading  unto  man  for 
mercy  unto  woman,  one  mother  speaking  in  the  sacred  name  of 
motherhood,  but  the  Spirit  of  the  murdered  Cynthia  pleading  for 
mercy  upon  her  murderess,  and  atoning  for  the  unconscious  wrong 
which  she  had  done  her  when  she  had  seemed  to  rob  Artemisia  of  a 
heart  that  never  could  have  been  wholly  hers.  I  saw  the  little 
seed  of  compassion  and  forgiveness  sown  by  my  mother's  gentle 
hands,  and  beheld  its  first  green  tender  blade  shoot  into  life  as  I 
turned  away  and  abandoned  my  long  nursed  desire  for  vengeance. 

The  pictures  then  showed  me  myself  wandering  in  the  dark 
kingdom  of  the  Evil  Angel,  that  I  might  learn  for  myself  to  what 
extreme  ends  the  unchecked  indulgence  in  passions  such  as  mine 
lead  men,  and  what  would  be  the  state  of  society  where  each 
one  exacted  the  full  measure  of  his  revenge  for  wrongs  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  his  neighbor. 

They  showed  me  Mansur  struggling  between  his  awakening 
desire  for  Good  and  his  enjoyment  of  things  that  were  evil;  drawn 
to  myself  by  his  pleasure  in  finding  a  mind  that  could  understand 
and  appreciate  the  intellectual  hunger  of  his  Soul,  yet  unable  to 
resist  the  temptation  to  draw  me  down  into  the  same  gulf  in  which 
he  was.  They  showed  him  to  me  as  he  watched  the  stars  in 
the  Spiritual  Heavens  and  noted  how  the  path  of  my  Soul's  star 
tended  ever  in  an  upward  direction  till  it  hung  above  that  of  the 
dark  King  of  Evil  himself. 

And  to  the  cunning  mind  of  Mansur  came  the  thought  that 
were  he  to  aid  me  I  might  perchance  help  to  draw  him  also  up 
with  me  out  of  the  power  of  the  Dark  Angel,  of  whose  service  he 
had  grown  weary.  Then  had  come  the  moment  of  my  danger, 
and  the  sudden  impulse  in  Mansur  to  give  me  that  strange  wand, 
whose  virtues  were  valueless  to  all  in  the  darkest  sphere,  since 
their  low  state  made  it  impossible  for  any  of  the  dark  dwellers 
there  to  retain  their  hold  upon  it.  I  was  not  so  low  as  those 
around  me,  and  Mansur  believed  that  it  would  be  possible  for  me 
to  handle  it,  and  had  given  it  to  me  while  the  good  impulse  was 
yet  strong  upon  him.  His  own  subsequent  fate,  terrible  as  it 
seemed,  was  nevertheless  the  opening  of  a  door  through  which  his 
Soul  had  found  the  release  it  craved,  and  already  his  foot  was  on 


220  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

the  lowest  step  of  that  long  and  difficult  ladder  by  which  he  would 
yet  mount  to  the  higher  life  of  the  Soul,  though  even  as  he  himself 
had  said,  the  distance  he  would  have  to  climb,  and  the  multitudes 
he  must  raise  step  by  step  with  himself,  might  well  daunt  the 
courage  of  the  stoutest  heart. 


CHAPTER  XV 

ARTEMISIA  VISITED  AGAIN;  FORGIVEN;   WE   VISIT 
SELIM;  I  VISIT  ZULEIKA  AND  BAMBA 

From  Mansur  my  thoughts  travelled  to  my  father,  and  then 
my  pictures  showed  him  to  me  in  the  grey  robes  of  a  penitent. 
His  kingly  dress  was  gone;  his  haughty  pride  humbled,  and  he 
seemed  slowly  and  sadly  striving  to  undo  the  mistakes  of  his 
earthly  life.  Near  him  I  saw  the  figure  of  the  poor  slave  whom 
he  had  ordered  to  be  killed.  El  Jazid  appeared  to  be  stooping 
over  this  figure  as  though  to  raise  him  up,  and  in  so  doing  the 
vision  faded  from  my  sight. 

Again  did  the  picture  of  Artemisia  rise  before  my  sight,  and 
as  I  gazed  upon  it  in  sorrow  and  remorse  a  voice  spoke  to  me, 
saying: 

"Arise  and  go  unto  this  woman,  thy  once  enemy.  Her  heart 
like  thine  hath  softened,  and  she  will  hear  thee  now.  Behold, 
thou  didst  rob  her  of  her  son;  restore  him  to  her  sight.  Thou 
canst  do  this,  for  thou  canst  draw  him  to  thee  on  the  Earth  Plane, 
and  there  thou  and  Artemisia  and  her  son  shall  meet  yet  once 
again." 

I  looked  upon  the  vision  of  the  Queen,  and  I  saw  that  she  sat 
yet  by  the  stormy  sea  of  passion;  but  its  waves  rolled  unheeded 
to  her  feet,  the  wild  wind  was  hushed,  and  the  dark  clouds  hung 
motionless  overhead,  unnoticed  by  her,  for  her  head  was  bowed 
upon  her  breast,  her  face  was  hidden  by  her  clasped  hands,  and 
she  was  softly,  sadly  weeping. 

As  I  thought,  with  a  new  born  feeling  of  compassion,  of  her 
misery,  the  image  of  myself  was  again  projected  upon  the  mirror- 
like  atmosphere  around  her,  and  my  voice  seemed  to  reach  her 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  221 

ears,  for  she  started  up  and  gazed  with  trembling,  half  affrighted 
looks  upon  my  reflection. 

"Oh,  Queen  Artemisia!"  said  I  slowly,  "great  hath  been  the 
sin  between  us  both.  I,  as  well  as  thou,  have  done  evil,  and  I 
am  come  to  ask  thy  forgiveness  for  my  share;  and  inasmuch  as 
my  hand  did  rob  thee  of  thy  son  I  seek  now  to  restore  him  unto 
thee.  Behold,  if  thou  wilt  meet  me  upon  the  great  Earth  Plane 
I  will  draw  thy  son  unto  thee,  that  thou  and  he  may  meet  once 
more." 

Even  as  I  spoke  I  felt  myself  rise  from  the  hill-top  whereon 
I  stood  and  float  towards  the  distant  globe  of  the  Earth,  which 
hovered  like  a  Star  far  away  on  the  horizon. 

As  I  alighted  upon  it  I  knew  that  I  was  in  the  Palace  of  Par- 
sagherd,  and  saw  that  I  had  entered  the  haunted  rooms. 

My  half-brother  Selim  was  seated  upon  the  same  queer-look- 
ing attempt  at  a  throne  which  I  had  seen  before,  and  in  no  respect 
was  his  own  appearance  changed  from  the  strange  mixture  of  age 
and  childishness.  I  read  in  his  thoughts  that  he  regarded  his 
hurried  visit  to  me  in  the  Astral  Plane,  when  I  had  so  nearly  con- 
signed him  to  the  tender  mercies  of  its  horrible  inhabitants,  as  a 
disagreeable  dream,  a  nightmare  vision,  nothing  more;  and  that 
he  felt  pleased  to  know  that  he  was  still  surrounded  by  scenes 
with  which  he  was  familiar.  To  his  eyes  the  Palace  presented 
much  the  same  appearance  as  in  his  earth  life;  the  change  and 
decay  I  saw  were  not  visible  to  him. 

Artemisia  had  arrived  before  me,  and  now  stood  before  her 
son,  a  dark  figure  with  outstretched  hands  and  pleading  eyes. 
The  wildness  had  gone  from  her  expression  though  the  face  was 
still  scarred  and  wrinkled  with  the  force  of  ti\:  passions  that  had 
raged  in  her  heart.  Round  her  figure  I  saw  a  faint  shimmer  of 
steel  grey  light,  that  enveloped  her  as  with  a  veil,  and  changed  the 
intense  blackness  of  despair  that  had  enwrapped  her  before,  into 
the  faint  semblance  of  a  garment  of  hope. 

She  stood  beside  her  son,  so  close  in  fact  that  I  thought  he 
must  have  felt  the  wild  beating  of  her  heart,  and  yet  I  saw  that 
she  was  quite  invisible  to  him.  He  could  no  more  see  the  spirit 
Mother  who  stood  beside  him  than  could  a  mortal  have  seen 
himself.  He  was  in  his  Astral  body,  that  first  garment  of  the 
Spirit  which  is  almost  mortal  in  its  materiality,  and  she  was  a 
Spirit  from  the  lower  sphere,  and,  as  such,  two  degrees  further 
removed  from  materiality  than  her  son.  For.  whether  a  Spirit 


222  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

ascends  or  descends  as  he  leaves  the  encircling  belt  of  the  Earth 
Plane,  he  leaves  behind  him  more  and  more  of  the  Earth's  materi- 
ality, and  becomes  less  and  less  easily  visible  to  the  eyes  of  mortals 
or  of  Earth-bound  Spirits.  To  become  visible  it  is  necessary 
that  he  should  clothe  himself  in  the  degree  of  materiality  belong- 
ing to  each  sphere  which  intervenes  between  him  and  the  Earth. 

As  I  saw  the  look  of  disappointment  and  hopelessness  that 
passed  over  Artemisia's  face  when  she  discovered  that  her  son 
could  not  see  her,  could  not  even  feel  that  she  was  near  him,  I 
understood  all  at  once  what  my  part  was  to  be,  and  how  I  could 
restore  her  to  her  son  if  only  for  a  short  time. 

The  magnetic  aura  which  had  enabled  the  Dark  Angel  to 
show  himself  to  Jelal-ud-din  during  my  Earth  life  was  not  alone 
a  property  of  the  Earthly  body.  It  belonged  to  the  spiritual 
organism;  it  was  a  characteristic  of  myself.  Only  the  grossest 
part  of  that  magnetic  essence  had  been  cast  off  with  the  Earth 
body,  and  though  I  could  no  longer  have  served  as  the  medium 
through  whom  a  Spirit  could  manifest  his  presence  to  a  mortal, 
my  aura  enabled  spirits  of  a  degree  above  or  below  myself  to 
become  visible  to  those  who  were  in  an  Earth-bound  condition 
such  as  Selim's.  Moreover,  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  Earth 
Plane  the  antagonism  between  my  magnetic  sphere  and  that  of 
Artemisia  was  not  so  acutely  felt  as  in  the  more  etherealized 
spheres  to  which  we  really  belonged,  and  therefore  Artemisia  was 
no  longer  shut  away  from  me  by  so  impassable  a  barrier.  I  could 
approach  her,  and  as  I  did  so,  and  the  magnetic  aura  of  my 
Spirit  enveloped  her  as  a  cloud,  she  became  suddenly  visible  to 
her  son,  appearing  before  him  much  as  an  apparition  appears  to 
mortals  who  have  imagined  there  was  no  one  present  but  them- 
selves. And  like  a  mortal  under  similar  circumstances  Selim  was  at 
first  startled,  almost  alarmed,  then  joy  at  the  sight  of  the  beloved 
Mother  overcame  all  other  feelings,  and  as  Artemisia,  overcome 
with  a  mixture  of  shame  and  pleasure,  sank  at  her  son's  feet,  he 
too  knelt  down  and  clasped  her  in  his  arms,  while  I  bowed  my 
head  and  turned  away  my  eyes,  that  I  might  not  intrude  upon 
the  sacredness  of  their  meeting. 


When  Artemisia  had  returned  to  the  sphere  in  which  she 
dwelt  I  resolved  to  go  and  see  whether  Zuleika  was  still  sleeping 
where  I  had  left  her.  When  I  approached  the  secret  passage  I 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  223 

perceived  that  she  was  no  longer  either  asleep  or  alone.  The 
Spirit  of  the  faithful  Baraba  was  sitting  where  Zuleika  had  lain, 
and  in  the  arms  of  this  poor,  faithful  slave  lay  Zuleika,  as  she  had 
lain  cradled  in  them  when  a  helpless  infant.  Bamba  knew  all 
the  petty  weaknesses,  the  selfish  frivolity,  the  heartless  vanity  of 
Zuleika's  nature.  She  saw  with  the  clear  eyes  of  the  Spirit  all 
the  bitter  change  that  had  passed  over  the  once  lovely  face  and 
form,  and  she  knew  it  to  be  but  the  outward  stamp  of  the  degra- 
dation of  the  Soul.  Yet  Zuleika  was  ever  to  her  the  child  whom 
she  had  nursed,  the  laughing  girl  whom  she  had  tended  and 
loved,  and  the  fair  woman  whom  she  had  served,  and  for  whose 
life  she  had  laid  down  her  own  in  the  burning  desert.  Bamba's 
love  had  never  changed;  her  faith  in  Zuleika  had  never  swerved, 
and  she  was  even  dearer  to  her  now  in  the  hour  of  her  misery  and 
degradation  than  when  the  one  had  been  almost  a  Queen  and 
the  other  a  poor  slave. 

I  read  all  the  nobility  of  Bamba's  thoughts  and  recognized 
the  purity  of  her  Soul,  and  involuntarily  I  bowed  to  the  poor 
slave  as  I  would  not  have  bowed  before  one  of  Earth's  proudest 
Queens.  And  as  I  looked  up  lo !  a  golden  star  shone  over  Bamba's 
head,  and  a  thin  circlet  like  a  crown  of  gold  hovered  for  one 
moment  in  the  air. 

As  for  Zuleika,  she  was  weeping  like  a  child  in  Bamba's  arms. 
But  I  approached  not  to  her,  nor  sought  to  make  my  presence 
known,  for  I  saw  that  she  wept,  not  over  the  ruin  and  the  sin  she 
had  helped  to  sow  around  her,  but  only  over  the  loss  of  that 
beauty  she  had  so  highly  prized.  Not  yet  would  I  speak  to  her, 
for  not  yet  was  she  able  to  understand  how  dead  was  my  love 
for  her,  and  yet  how  keen  my  pity. 


224  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


CHAPTER  XVI 

DAWN  AT  LAST  ;  I  AM  VISITED  BY  A  SPIRIT  OF  THE 

GOLDEN   STAR;    MY   GUIDE   TEACHES   ME   THE 

FOLLY  OF  AGGRANDIZEMENT;   FALSE  KINGS 

AND  TRUE  KINGS;  FALSE  RELIGIONS 

AND  TRUE  RELIGIONS 

When  I  returned  to  the  mountain  top  which  I  had  left  I  saw 
that  the  first  rays  of  the  rising  sun  were  beginning  to  light  up  the 
dark  Earth  around  me,  and  to  touch  with  a  golden  glory  the  tips 
of  the  wavelets  on  the  grey  sea,  while  on  the  spot  where  I  had  sat 
a  long  ray  of  golden  light  rested,  like  a  messenger  of  Hope  from 
the  Angels  of  the  Golden  Star. 

As  I  reached  the  hill  once  more  I  saw  that  a  majestic  Spirit 
in  a  long  robe  of  grey  spangled  with  little  golden  stars  awaited 
me,  and  as  he  rose  from  his  seat  to  greet  me  I  noticed  that  to  his 
drapery  there  were  attached  a  pair  of  golden  and  grey  wings  of 
the  most  ethereal,  transparent  beauty,  while  on  his  forehead  there 
gleamed  a  Golden  Star.  The  countenance  was  majestic  and 
beautiful  in  the  extreme,  and  the  figure  tall  and  commanding. 
The  type  of  feature  was  that  of  an  Eastern;  the  complexion  a 
pale  olive,  the  eyes  dark  and  soft  in  their  velvety  darkness, 
expressing  at  once  power  and  tenderness.  In  his  hand  he  held 
out  to  me  what  looked  like  the  very  wand  which  Mansur  had 
given  me  in  the  Dark  Angel's  Kingdom,  and  which  had  vanished 
mysteriously. 

*  " Behold,"  said  he  with  a  grave  smile,  "I  am  that  Spirit  of 
whom  Mansur  spoke  unto  thee  when  he  gave  thee  this  wand. 
Wonder  not  that  it  disappeared  when  it  had  served  its  purpose, 
for  it  existed  not  save  in  thine  own  magnetic  aura.  I  projected 
to  thee  this,  its  spiritual  counterpart,  and  the  materiality  of  thine 
own  Spirit  clothed  it  for  a  time  with  a  form  visible  to  thine  eyes 
and  to  those  of  Mansur  alone.  To  the  dwellers  of  that  sphere 
it  was  invisible  because  it  had  not  a  degree  of  density  akin  to 
their  condition,  and  it  vanished  from  thee  when  the  agitation  of 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  225 

thy  mind  snapped  the  slender  thread  of  magnetic  communication 
between  us.  Yet  at  the  time  it  served  as  a  focus  upon  which  I 
could  concentrate  my  will  in  support  of  thine. 

"Thou  hast  desired  to  gain  the  knowledge  of  spiritual  things: 
Behold !  I  will  give  unto  thee  such  knowledge.  I  will  teach  thee 
the  laws  by  which  these  spheres  exist,  and  show  thee  what  are 
the  means  of  passing  between  each.  That  the  Spirits  who  have 
arisen  in  the  past  to  answer  thy  desire  for  knowledge  should  have 
come  from  the  dark  rather  than  from  the  light  spheres,  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  thine  aspirations  after  knowledge  were  inspired  by 
selfish  motives,  rather  than  from  a  wish  to  use  the  wisdom  gained 
for  the  service  of  thy  fellow  men.  Moreover,  thou  hast  desired  to 
be  a  King,  as  men  on  Earth  regard  the  Kingly  state,  and  lo!  in 
yonder  Dark  Sphere  thou  hast  beheld  what  the  most  perfect 
development  of  that  selfish  thirst  for  aggrandisement  doth  mean. 
In  the  Dark  Angel  thou  hast  beheld  one  who  was  in  Earth  life 
the  greatest  Emperor  the  East  hath  known,  in  those  ancient  days 
when  a  despot  was  indeed  an  irresponsible  power  within  his  own 
domains.  Thou  hast  beheld  in  him  the  ultimate  development 
of  those  baser  qualities  that  make  a  King  great,  and  a  conqueror 
invincible.  No  man  can  desire  to  aggrandise  himself  at  the 
expense  of  his  weaker  brethren  wrho  is  not  selfish.  None  can 
wish  to  grasp  for  himself  an  abnormal  share  of  wealth,  while 
those  around  him  go  in  rags  that  he  may  be  clothed  in  purple  and 
fine  linen,  who  is  not  greedy.  To  desire  that  others  shall  bow 
the  knee  before  thee  and  pay  thee  homage,  as  though  thou  wert 
the  Divine  Being  personified,  shows  that  pride  and  vanity  alike 
rule  in  thine  heart.  To  hunger  for  the  territory  of  other  nations 
that  thou  mayest  swell  the  extent  of  thine  own;  to  engage  in  war 
and  bloodshed  that  thou  mayest  conquer  those  who  are  weaker 
than  thyself,  and  chain  them  as  slaves  to  thy  chariot  wheels,  is 
surely  to  trample  upon  the  just  rights  of  those  more  feeble  than 
thyself,  but  who  are  nevertheless  entitled  to  enjoy  such  good 
things  as  the  Lord  of  all  hath  given  to  them  as  well  as  unto  thee. 
And  yet,  is  it  not  by  ignoring  the  rights  of  those  who  have  not 
strength  to  defend  themselves  against  him  that  the  Earthly  con- 
queror prevails?  Is  it  not  by  wresting  from  his  fellow  men  that 
which  he  is  not  powerful  enough  to  keep  that  the  successful 
warrior  swells  the  number  of  his  own  possessions?  Doth  not 
ruin  and  devastation,  death  and  suffering,  follow  in  the  track  of 
the  mighty  Conqueror  of  nations?  Is  it  not  true  that  the  greater 


226  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

the  conquests  are  the  more  wide  spread  is  the  misery  that  follows? 
Doth  not  the  march  of  the  triumphant  army  leave  in  its  wake 
scenes  of  death  and  horror  more  terrible  than  those  of  a  destroy- 
ing pestilence?  Think  of  thine  own  Earth  life,  of  the  hard  wrung 
tribute  ground  out  of  the  forced  labors  of  the  helpless  nations 
the  Persians  had  enslaved.  Of  the  bitter  sense  of  bondage  that 
burns  in  the  breasts  of  the  conquered  race,  until  the  smouldering 
fire  breaks  forth  in  what  the  conquerors  term  'revolt'  against 
their  usurped  power.  Think  of  the  stern  repression,  the  cruel 
measures  by  which  such  a  revolt  is  met.  Think  of  the  feelings 
that  are  born  in  the  breasts  of  conqueror  and  conquered  alike, 
and  then  ask  if  it  is  any  wonder  that  Hell  should  be  peopled  with 
the  great  enslavers  of  their  fellow  men,  or  that  those  who,  like  the 
Dark  Angel  thou  hast  seen,  have  devoted  all  their  abilities  on 
Earth  to  the  amassing  of  treasures,  the  acquisition  of  territory, 
the  grasping  of  power,  the  subjugation  of  all  others'  wills  to  their 
will,  the  humbling  of  all  pride  but  their  own,  should  be  Kings, 
not  alone  on  Earth,  but  in  those  dark  spheres  where  the  selfish 
and  brutal  qualities  of  man  reign  supreme.  Ask  thyself  who 
have  been  the  greatest  Kings  on  Earth  in  the  past,  and  who  are 
likely  to  be  the  great  Emperors  of  the  future,  and  what  are  the 
qualities  that  most  distinguish  them  above  their  fellows?  Is  not 
the  answer  ever  the  same?  Can  any  one  be  truly  a  great  con- 
queror who  hath  not  left  behind  him  all  pity  for  the  sufferings 
of  his  fellow  man;  all  sense  of  his  brother's  equal  right  to  the 
earth  that  God  hath  given,  not  to  one  man,  but  to  all?  Call  the 
love  of  conquest  by  what  fine  name  you  please,  it  is  still  the  greedy 
desire  to  possess  what  belongs  unto  another.  If  thou  dost  not 
seek  to  take  another  country  for  thine  own  personal  use,  but  for 
thy  country,  it  is  still  an  act  of  pillage,  for  the  grandeur  of  thine 
own  country  hath  no  more  reason  to  be  increased  at  the  expense 
of  thy  neighbor  than  has  thy  larder  to  be  enriched  from  his  hen- 
roost. Yet  in  the  one  case  men  would  call  thee  a  great  conqueror, 
and  in  the  other  a  petty  thief. 

"  There  have  been  Kings,  true  Kings,  on  Earth,  but  they  came 
not  in  the  pomp  of  Royalty;  their  deeds  were  not  those  of  the 
mighty  slayers  of  their  brother  man;  they  came  to  teach,  and  to 
uplift  the  down-trodden  and  the  weary;  they  used  their  strength 
to  support  those  weaker  than  themselves,  not  to  crush  them; 
they  used  their  superior  gifts,  their  power  to  soar  above  their 
fellows,  as  a  strong  climber  might  use  his  strength  to  mount  upon 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN         227 

a  rock  when  he  beheld  the  floods  sweeping  towards  him,  not  in 
order  to  save  himself,  but  that  from  his  vantage  place  he  might 
reach  down  and  draw  up  the  struggling  multitude  below  him  into 
that  place  of  safety  which  he  alone  had  been  strong  enough  to 
reach. 

"Such  Kings  have  come  upon  the  stage  of  Planetary  life  from 
time  to  time,  and  men  have  called  them  Messiahs  of  the  Earth,  and 
upon  their  teachings  have  founded  systems  of  Religion.  Pure  in 
themselves,  and  bearing  in  the  early  days  of  their  foundation 
the  stamp  of  their  great  founder's  pure  doctrines,  these  systems 
of  Religion  have  one  after  the  other  become  encrusted  with  the 
meretricious  glitter  of  those  Earthly  baubles  of  sovereignty  with 
which  the  succeeding  generations  of  the  Priesthood  sought  to 
heighten  their  own  power  and  glorify  the  virtues  of  their  original 
Founder.  And  as  surely  as  these  ambitious  priests,  half-blinded 
by  their  Earthly  natures,  sought  to  add  to  their  influence  by 
these  means,  so  surely  did  the  hour  of  their  deterioration  from  the 
pure  teachings  of  the  Spirit  World  begin.  Each  paltry  bauble 
with  which  they  decorated  themselves,  each  piece  of  gold  that 
they  laid  up  as  treasure,  each  mark  of  Earthly  pomp  and  pride 
which  they  exacted  from  the  populace  as  homage  to  their  order, 
became  as  a  mill-stone  to  drag  them  and  their  teachings  from 
Heaven  to  Earth,  yea,  and  even  to  below  the  Earth.  Men  sought 
the  service  of  the  Temples  for  the  power  it  gave,  not  as  a  means 
of  Holy  Life.  The  treasures  that  had  been  amassed  for  the  glory 
of  God  were  squandered  to  gratify  the  lusts  of  man.  The  lives 
of  self-denial  and  holy  meditation  that  were  to  raise  their  votaries 
above  the  sordid  thoughts  of  Earth,  gave  place  to  shameless  scenes 
of  debauchery  and  fierce  struggles  for  the  possession  of  temporal 
power,  till  the  Temples  became  a  by-word  and  a  reproach,  and 
their  Priests  a  mere  set  of  commonplace  men,  no  longer  endowed 
with  a  single  spiritual  gift,  a  single  abnormal  power  of  discerning 
spiritual  things. 

"Every  shadow  of  Earthly  pomp  which  a  religion  borrows 
from  the  insignia  of  Earthly  Kings  is  but  another  link  to  connect 
it  with  Earth,  not  Heaven,  and  so  soon  as  the  pure  Heaven-sent 
truths  of  Immortality  come  to  be  loaded  with  multitudinous  doc- 
trines and  dogmas  that  have  had  their  source  only  in  the  narrow 
minds  of  Earthly  Priests,  and  the  simple  form  of  worshipping  the 
Great  Father  comes  to  be  surrounded  with  elaborate  ceremonies 
and  observances,  and  its  priests  decked  out  in  all  the  gaudy  frip- 


228  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

pery  of  jewels  and  tinsel  in  imitation  of  the  selfish  grandeur  of 
Earthly  Monarchs,  so  soon  may  that  system  of  Religion  be  likened 
unto  those  hideous  idols  which  half-civilized  nations  make  in 
the  fancied  image  of  their  Gods  and  load  with  paint  and  jewels 
til'i  all  semblance  to  the  thing  that  they  were  meant  to  symbolize 
is  lost. 

"Then,  indeed,  may  the  decrepitude  of  that  system  of  Religion 
be  said  to  have  begun.  Exactly  how  long  it  will  last  in  this  state 
is  a  matter  of  uncertainty,  but  its  doom  is  none  the  less  sealed.  It 
is  tottering  to  its  fall,  and  may  be  likened  to  a  bedizened  corpse 
from  which  the  Soul  hath  fled,  but  which  those  around  seek  still 
to  galvanize  into  a  ghastly  semblance  of  its  former  life. 

"So  hath  it  been  with  the  Religions  of  the  past,  and  so  will  it 
be  with  those  of  the  future.  They  shall  have  the  pure  dawn  of 
their  birth,  the  glorious  glitter  of  their  noonday,  and  the  decrepi- 
tude of  their  failing  night;  and  on  the  ashes  of  the  old  Faith  that 
no  longer  satisfies  the  Spiritual  aspirations  of  the  human  Soul, 
there  shall  arise  a  new  and  purer  Faith,  a  truer  broader  Relig- 
ion, giving  unto  mankind  a  wider  view  of  the  Great  Mysteries  of 
Spiritual  Existence. 

"Thus  shall  all  the  Faiths  of  the  Earth  arise  and  wane,  till 
Earth  itself  is  old,  and  the  World  and  its  inhabitants  pass  from 
the  material  stage  of  being  to  exist  eternally  in  the  Spirit  Spheres. 

"Wouldst  thou  desire  to  visit  Earth  and  see  for  thyself  a 
Temple  and  observe  how  it  doth  appear  as  seen  from  this  side 
of  life,  and  what  value  there  is  in  the  guidance  of  its  Priests 
who  have  arrogated  unto  themselves  the  position  of  Spiritual 
Kings?  Wouldst  thou  behold  how  they  appear  to  us?" 

As  I  gladly  assented  to  this  proposal  the  Angel  seemed  to  me 
to  put  his  hand  on  mine,  although  I  felt  no  touch,  and  immediately, 
with  the  swiftness  of  thought,  I  found  that  we  were  hovering 
over  a  Temple. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  229 


CHAPTER  XVII 

WE  VISIT  A  TEMPLE;  WHY  IT  HAD  DETERIORATED 
AND  BECOME   UNCLEAN 

After  a  few  minutes  of  rapid  flight  we  stopped ,  and  began  to 
descend  to  the  material  globe,  till  we  hovered  over  a  far  larger 
Temple  than  the  one  which  I  have  called  the  Temple  of  Amurath. 
I  shall  not  say  to  what  religion  this  last  Temple  belonged,  nor  in 
what  country  it  was  situated,  for  I  do  not  desire  that  it  should  be 
supposed  that  the  state  of  matters  which  existed  there  was  spec- 
ially typical  of  any  Religion  or  any  country;  for  I  hold  that  Truth 
and  Error,  Good  and  Evil,  are  to  be  found  everywhere  and  in  all 
Religions  and  amongst  all  peoples,  and  no  matter  how  pure  the 
original  doctrines  of  any  form  of  Faith  may  be,  it  is  impossible  to 
prevent  the  ambitions  and  the  lusts,  the  greed  and  the  cruelty, 
that  are  inherent  in  the  undeveloped  Human  Soul  from  perverting 
the  original  purity  of  the  teachings  and  turning  them  to  the 
basest  purposes,  and  overlaying  them  with  the  grossest  errors. 

In  the  Temple  above  which  we  now  hovered  I  saw  that  there 
was  an  immense  mass  of  treasure  hoarded  up,  and  the  wealth  it 
represented  must  have  been  enormous.  It  was  stored  in  great 
natural  caverns  which  penetrated  far  into  the  rocky  hillside  upon 
which  the  Temple  was  built,  and  honey-combed  the  foundations 
below  it.  I  saw  that  this  treasure  had  been  gradually  amassed 
during  many  centuries,  and  gathered  from  every  quarter  of  the 
globe.  No  use  was  being  made  of  it,  and  it  was  simply  stored 
up  in  these  mighty  caverns  as  the  valuable  possession  of  the 
Temple,  a  monument  to  the  greed  of  its  Priests. 

Far  above  these  vaults,  in  the  Temple  itself,  there  were  costly 
vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  splendid  gems  and  wonderful  carvings 
on  ivory,  and  precious  stones.  The  plunder  of  the  Temple  above, 
without  any  of  the  wealth  concealed  beneath  in  its  vaults,  would 
have  made  the  ransom  of  a  King.  The  building  was  of  magnifi- 
cent proportions,  and  of  very  beautiful  workmanship.  Every 
pillar  was  elaborately  carved,  and  every  foot  of  the  roof  inlaid 
with  beautiful  polished  wood  and  precious  stones,  while  the  varie- 


230  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

gated  marble  of  the  pavement  was  a  marvel  of  beauty  in  design 
and  colour.  There  were  flowers  laid  as  tributary  offerings  by  the 
ignorant  worshippers  of  these  coarse  symbols  of  their  Gods. 
Sweet  scented  woods  and  fragrant  roots  were  burning  continually 
on  the  altars,  and  the  smoke  which  hung  like  a  misty  veil  about 
the  altars  and  the  worshippers  gave  an  air  of  religious  mystery 
to  the  scene. 

Thus  would  the  Temple  itself  have  appeared  to  mortal  sight. 
But  to  the  eyes  of  a  Spirit  it  was  very  different.  The  beauty  of 
the  building  was  marred  by  unsightly  rents  and  fissures  in  the 
spiritual  counterpart  of  the  walls.  The  marble  pavement  was 
stained  and  blackened  by  the  foul  deeds  that  had  been  done  by 
those  who  made  the  Temple  their  dwelling  place.  The  gold  was 
cankered,  and  the  lustre  of  the  jewels  was  dimmed  by  the  violence 
of  the  means  through  which  they  had  been  wrested  from  their 
owners  and  seized  for  the  enrichment  of  the  Temple.  The  walls 
seemed  hung  with  filmy  draperies,  whereon  were  depicted  the 
shameless  lives  of  many  of  those  who  called  themselves  the  Pro- 
phets and  teachers,  the  Priests  and  mediums,  who  stood  as  media- 
tors between  the  simple  populace  and  the  Gods  they  sought  to 
Worship. 

The  groves  of  sacred  trees,  designed  to  protect  the  Sensitives 
from  the  approach  of  the  wandering  hill  tribes  that  dwelt  around, 
might  serve  that  purpose,  but  they  no  longer  served  any  other, 
for  in  them  there  lurked  a  host  of  unclean  creatures,  the  creations 
of  the  evil  lives  of  those  who  had  made  Temple  and  Sensitives 
alike  their  prey.  Around  the  Temple  itself  there  hung  a  cloud 
of  spiritual  darkness  that  resembled  the  thunder  clouds  of  night 
when  the  heavy  atmosphere  threatens  at  any  moment  to  break 
forth  into  a  violent  storm.  The  thought  emanations  from  the 
Temple  of  Amurath  had  resembled  muddy  water,  those  from 
this  Temple  were  like  a  sea  of  mud  and  slime,  and  I  did  not 
desire  to  penetrate  it,  even  had  it  been  possible  for  me  to  do  so. 

Here  and  there  I  saw  a  faint  gleam  of  light,  like  a  feeble  candle 
striving  to  shine  through  a  screen  of  smoked  glass,  and  I  knew 
that  where  these  lights  shone  there  was  still  to  be  found  some 
mortal  whose  spiritual  condition  had  not  been  contaminated  by 
the  foulness  of  his  surroundings,  and  whose  Soul  struggled  still 
to  keep  alight  the  lamp  of  purity  and  truth. 

A  mutilated  and  perverted  semblance  of  the  old  religious  faith 
was  practiced  here.  The  Oracles  were  still  invoked,  and  the 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  231 

Gods  besought  to  communicate  with  men.  But  the  results  that 
were  obtained  bore  as  much  resemblance  to  the  inspirations  of 
the  Higher  Spirits  as  did  the  hideous  images  in  the  Temple  to  the 
Gods  they  were  thought  to  represent;  man-made  and  earth- 
'suggested  images,  even  as  the  inspirations  were  those  of  the  hor- 
rible denizens  of  the  Earth  and  Astral  Planes. 

The  absurd  ordinances,  the  horrible  sacrifices,  the  revolting 
practices,  the  grotesque  beliefs,  the  fantastic  theories,  that  had 
crept  into  the  teaching  of  this  religion  were  all  excrescences  fas- 
tened one  by  one  upon  the  simple  purity  of  the  teachings  of  its 
founder,  and  were  suggested  by  the  imperfect  visions  of  those 
Sensitives  who  could  only  behold  the  Astral  Plane  or  the  Earth- 
bound  Spirits  around  them.  And  as  the  horrible  beings  which 
appeared  under  the  conditions  of  spiritual  communication  exist- 
ing in  this  Temple  were  mistaken  for  the  Gods  and  Devils  of  the 
Spirit  World,  so  the  distorted  glimpses  and  the  twisted  teachings 
which  arose  from  the  same  cause  were  mistaken  for  the  revela- 
tions of  the  Almighty.  Things  which  were  intended  for  mere 
symbols  of  certain  teachings  were  mistaken  for  the  personifica- 
tions of  the  Deities,  and  endowed  with  a  sacred  character  never 
intended  to  be  ascribed  to  them.  The  wild  utterances  of  Sensi- 
tives obsessed  by  one  or  other  of  the  unhappy  Spirits  that  haunted 
the  Temple  were  received  as  answers  from  the  Gods,  and  Divine 
commands  to  be  acted  upon  with  unquestioning  faith,  till  the  con- 
fusion and  error,  the  horrible  teachings  and  cruel  practices  of 
which  that  Temple  became  the  centre  were  so  great  that  only  the 
total  destruction,  the  leveling  with  the  dust  of  such  a  focus  of 
iniquity,  could  free  the  poor,  simple,  ignorant  people  who  wor- 
shipped at  so  false  a  shrine  from  the  further  prolongation  of  such 
a  state  of  moral  and  intellectual  darkness. 

Those  who  gaze  regretfully  upon  the  ruins  of  some  of  these 
mighty  monuments  of  the  Past,  and  wonder  why  so  fair  a  thing 
was  given  over  to  destruction  and  decay,  can  scarce  realize  the 
stupendous  forces  that  were  at  work  in  the  Spiritual  World  ere 
the  final  downfall  of  the  fallacious  system  which  it  embodied  was 
accomplished,  and  the  Earth  freed  from  the  contamination  of  the 
poison  it  had  disseminated  on  every  side.  Let  not  any  man  yield 
too  readily  the  glamour  with  which  time  enshrouds  the  memory  of 
the  past.  Let  it  not  be  imagined  that  the  early  ages  of  the  World 
were  the  ages  of  unmixed  innocence,  simplicity  and  purity.  For  the 
less  the  intellect  of  man  is  developed  the  less  can  he  perceive  the 


232  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

grossness  of  the  errors  and  the  spiritual  darkness  that  surround 
him.  In  those  early  ages  which  some  people  admire,  the  abuses 
and  the  tyrannies  were  unchecked  by  the  restraining  influence 
which  education  exercises  over  the  unbridled  passions  of  mankind, 
and  the  mistakes  and  fallacies  of  the  various  theories  were  unde- 
tected because  man's  knowledge  of  the  true  nature  of  himself  and 
his  surroundings  was  limited  by  the  conditions  under  which  he 
lived.  It  is  true  that  the  errors  of  the  present  day  are  numerous 
and  great  enough,  but  they  are  as  pigeons'  eggs  beside  the  rocs' 
eggs  of  the  Past. 

I  first  noticed  that  the  Sensitives  in  this  Temple  were  with  one 
exception  all  of  very  tender  years.  The  age  of  the  oldest  did  not 
exceed  twenty  summers,  while  the  majority  were  from  fourteen 
to  fifteen.  In  the  Temple  of  Amurath,  on  the  contrary,  some  of 
the  seers  attained  to  a  fairly  advanced  period  of  life  ere  the  change 
called  Death  overtook  their  mortal  frames.  For  although  the 
development  of  the  highest  forms  of  mediumship  does  tend  to 
shorten  the  mortal  life,  by  rendering  the  hold  of  the  Sensitive  upon 
materiality  less  secure,  the  lower  forms  (or  degrees)  of  this  power 
may  be  developed  and  exercised  with  very  little  clanger  or  diffi- 
culty, beyond  the  inconveniences  which  arise  from  the  extreme 
sensitiveness  to  all  unsuitable  or  antagonistic  influences  which  is 
the  result  of  unveiling  these  abnormal  powers.  This,  however,  only 
applies  to  mediums  of  any  class  and  every  degree  of  power  while 
these  gifts  are  exercised  amidst  pure  surroundings.  For  the 
mediums  of  the  lower  degrees  are  exposed  to  very  great  danger 
indeed  if  they  have  developed  or  use  their  gifts  amidst  impure 
surroundings,  as  the  description  I  am  about  to  give  of  this  Temple 
will  show.  As  mediums  of  the  highest  class  are  very  rare,  and 
still  fewer  who  possess  these  gifts  are  ready  to  resign  all  share 
in  the  pleasures  and  excitements  of  Earth  life  in  order  to  develop 
and  exercise  their  gifts,  the  number  of  persons  who  would  be 
withdrawn  from  active  life, — were  all  those  who  are  both  willing 
and  able  to  develope  these  high  degrees  of  mediumship  to  do  so, 
— would  still  be  very  inconsiderable,  and  would  make  very  little 
difference  to  the  progress  of  the  busy  life  of  the  world  of  mortal 
men.  But  that  all  those  who  do  develop  the  highest  degrees  of 
power  must  entirely  withdraw  from  active  life  is  a  doctrine  which 
I  most  emphatically  maintain.  And  for  this  reason:  that  the 
development  of  such  powers  can  only  be  accomplished  by  render- 
ing the  mortal  envelope  so  entirely  penetrable  by  the  Spirit 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  233 

within  that  it  ceases  to  be  any  longer  an  adequate  protection 
against  the  miasmic  exhalations  from  the  life  of  that  Astral  Plane 
which,  as  I  have  shown,  completely  enwraps  the  Earth  with  a 
mantle  of  semi-material  beings,  whose  influence  over  mortals  is 
in  exact  proportion  to  the  closeness  with  which  they  can  come 
en  rapport  with  them,  and  to  the  thickness  or  thinness  of  the  pro- 
tecting envelope  of  the  mortal  body. 

If,  then,  the  Spiritual  powers  be  so  highly  developed  as  to  put 
the  Sensitive  into  harmony  writh  the  conditions  of  the  higher 
spheres,  it  follows  that  the  exceeding  thinness  of  the  material 
veil  which  interposes  bet\veen  the  Spirit  and  all  forms  of  Astral 
life  must  expose  it  to  dangers  from  which  a  more  thickly  shielded 
Spirit  is  protected.  What  these  dangers  are  will  best  be  shown 
in  this  narrative,  and  it  was  because  these  dangers  were  in  part 
recognized  by  the  older  religions  which  practiced  divination  and 
kindred  methods  of  Spirit  communion,  that  the  idea  of  secluding 
the  mediums  and  protecting  them  from  all  contact  with  the  out- 
side world  arose.  Not  as  a  means  of  mortifying  the  flesh,  but  as  a 
protection  to  the  over  sensitive  Spirit,  was  this  system  of  seclusion 
first  enjoined  and  the  groves  of  sacred  trees  planted,  in  order 
that  they  might  become  an  impassable  barrier  against  the  near 
approach  of  mortals  who  brought  in  their  train  many  strange 
Astral  Beings  who  were  attached  to  them  by  reason  of  the  con- 
geniality of  their  temperament.  A  magnet  will  attract  and  retain 
hold  of  an  object  just  as  long  as  its  attractive  force  is  the  most 
powerful  within  that  circle  of  attraction;  but  if  a  stronger  magnet 
be  brought  close  to  the  first  the  objects  adhering  to  it  will  be 
drawrn  away  and  attach  themselves  to  the  stronger  one. 

Now,  as  a  developed  medium  hath  a  stronger  power  of  attrac- 
tion for  all  things  that  pertain  to  Astral  life  than  an  undeveloped 
medium,  it  follows  that  any  Astrals  that  are  following  the  unde- 
veloped medium  will  be  attracted  at  once  to  the  developed  one 
the  moment  they  are  brought  into  close  enough  proximity  to  feel 
this  superior  attraction.  Furthermore,  as  the  development  of  a 
medium  means  the  drawing  away  of  a  portion  of  that  material 
element  which  imprisoned  the  magnetic  aura,  it  follows  that  the 
aura  of  a  developed  medium  will  radiate  its  attractive  force  over 
a  greater  area  than  it  would  have  done  in  an  undeveloped  con- 
dition, and  thus  it  becomes  necessary  to  interpose  a  wider  and 
ever  wider  space  between  a  medium  and  all  doubtful  surround- 
ings the  higher  and  higher  you  push  the  degree  of  his  develop- 


234  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

ment.  If  this  is  not  done  then  the  dangers  which  arise  from  the 
neglect  of  such  a  precaution  must  be  in  exact  ratio  to  the  increased 
sensibility  of  the  uncovered  Spirit.  For  though  to  a  mortal  eye 
no  change  in  the  mortal  envelope  has  taken  place,  yet  it  is  a  fact 
that  in  a  very  highly  developed  Sensitive  the  Spirit  so  thoroughly 
penetrates  to  the  outer  verge  of  every  atom  of  its  material  body 
that  it  is  really  covered  by  the  scantiest  amount  of  materiality 
compatible  with  a  continuance  of  its  mortal  existence. 

To  draw  the  Spirit  so  completely  through,  as  one  may  express 
it,  the  mortal  envelope  is  a  work  of  extreme  delicacy  and  difficulty, 
and  the  process  is  one  few  mortals  have  the  patience  to  submit  to. 
Once  it  has  been  done  it  becomes  IMPOSSIBLE  to  restore  the 
medium  to  his  former  condition  of  insensibility,  except  for  a  brief 
space  of  time;  even  as  it  is  impossible  for  a  Spirit  who  has  so  com- 
pletely penetrated  through  his  mortal  envelope  as  to  cast  it  off 
altogether  and  sever  all  ties  to  it,  to  again  clothe  himself  in  a 
replica  of  his  Earthly  body  for  any  long  period,  and  the  more 
advanced  a  Spirit  becomes  the  more  difficult  it  is  for  him  to  resume 
an  Earthly  vestment. 

In  watching  the  mediums  of  this  Temple  I  noticed  that  around 
each  of  them  there  were  cluste'red  not  only  various  repulsive  forms 
of  Astral  life,  but  many  Spirits  of  a  low  type,  whose  evil  visages 
and  coarse  sensual  expressions  told  plainly  what  their  Earthly 
habits  of  life  had  been.  I  saw  that  the  Astral  beings  seemed  to 
float  in  the  auras  of  these  degraded  Spirits,  and  feed  upon  the 
foul  magnetism  that  surrounded  them,  while  the  gross  Spirits 
themselves  fastened  like  vampires  upon  the  unlucky  Sensitives, 
and  sucked  their  vitality  away  till  they  became  languid  and  weak, 
and  finally  faded  away  and  died  without  any  specific  ailment 
being  discernible. 

The  vampire  Spirits  were  actuated  solely  by  a  fierce  anxiety 
to  renew  the  Astral  envelope  which  kept  their  spirits  in  an  Earth- 
bound  condition,  hovering  about  the  Earth  Plane,  even  as 
Jelal-ud-din  had  kept  renewing  his  mortal  envelope  in  order  that 
he  might  continue  his  Earth  life.  They  did  this  because  they 
felt  that  were  they  once  to  lose  their  hold  of  this  means  of  remain- 
ing on  the  Earth  Plane  they  must  sink  into  a  lower  and  darker 
sphere  of  unknown  tribulation.  By  feeding  on  the  vitality  of  the 
unfortunate  Sensitives  and  on  all  upon  whom  they  could  fasten, 
these  low  Spirits  were  able  to  prolong  their  Earth-bound  state  of 
existence  to  an  indefinite  period,  even  as  Jelal-ud-din  had  pro- 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  235 

longed  his  Earth  life  by  absorbing  the  life  of  first  one  and  then 
another  mortal. 

As  I  studied  these  Astral  Spirits  and  these  low  Earth-bound 
vampires  in  whose  auras  they  lived,  I  understood  one  mystery 
that  had  long  perplexed  me,  and  comprehended  the  cause  of  that 
strange  lassitude  which  had  crept  over  me  more  and  more  strongly 
the  longer  I  lived  with  Jelal-ud-din.  For  I  observed  that  while  the 
Sorcerer  kept  absorbing  from  me  and  from  others  our  vitality,  he 
in  his  turn  was  being  drained  of  life  by  such  vampire  Spirits  as 
were  now  before  me,  and  wrho,  owing  to  his  own  grossness  of  life, 
could  more  easily  come'  into  contact  with  him  than  with  me, 
though  as  time  passed  on  I  also  became  their  prey. 

I  saw  that  the  poor  mediums  in  this  ill-omened  Temple  of 
corruption  and  infamy  were  literally  defenceless  against  the 
attacks  of  these  horrible  ghouls,  because  the  safeguards  which 
purity  might  have  erected  around  them  were  entirely  absent, 
wrhile  the  protection  which  the  mortal  envelope  in  a  great  measure 
affords  was  also  withdrawn  by  the  process  of  development  to 
which  they  had  been  subjected.  The  poor  mediums  faded  out 
of  life  in  a  very  few  years,  and  the  ignorant,  half-taught  priests 
calmly  concluded  that  mediumship  inevitably  acted  injuriously 
upon  the  mortal  frame,  and  that  after  all,  since  the  Gods  had 
taken  their  servants  to  a  better  world  it  was  not  only  foolish  but 
wrong  to  regret  their  death. 

"See,"  said  the  Angel  unto  me,  "see  how  that  intercourse 
between  mortals  and  immortals  which  should  be  the  greatest 
solace  and  the  greatest  means  of  knowledge  unto  man  has  become 
not  a  blessing  but  a  curse;  not  a  means  of  life,  but  of  death  and 
premature  decay.  In  seeking  to  enjoy  all  the  pleasures,  all  the 
excitements,  all  the  power  and  wealth  of  the  material  world,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  hold  on  to  that  intercourse  with  the  Spirit 
World  upon  which  they  depend  for  their  influence  over  man's 
superstitious  fears,  these  priests  have  created  around  them  a 
state  of  confusion  that  resembles  some  Pandemonium  rather  than 
a  Temple  of  the  pure  and  good.  They  have  taken  away  the 
protection  that  nature  gave  the  mediums  and  have  nothing  to 
substitute  in  its  place,  and  then  they  ascribe  to  the  will  of  the 
Gods  a  state  of  affairs  created  solely  by  the  blind  ignorance  and 
the  avaricious  vanity  of  man.  Thou  hast  seen  how  confusion 
arose  in  the  Temple  of  Amurath  by  reason  of  the  neglect  and 
disregard  of  the  simple  laws  of  Spirit  intercourse  enjoined  by 


236  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

the  prophets;  see  now  how  worse  than  confusion  hath  arisen 
from  the  same  cause.'* 

The  Angel  pointed  to  one  chamber  of  the  Temple  and  I  saw 
that  there  were  a  large  number  of  priests  assembled  around  an 
unconscious  medium  who  lay  entranced  upon  the  floor.  A  heavy 
vapor  from  the  burning  of  scented  powders  filled  the  room,  while 
the  low,  monotonous  chanting  of  the  priests  served  yet  further 
to  lull  the  Sensitive  to  slumber. 

A  far  denser  cloud  than  any  produced  by  the  incense  however 
hung  over  the  room  to  my  spiritual  sight,  and  as  the  aura  of  the 
medium  spread  its  magnetic  attraction  yet  further  and  further 
around  I  saw  all  sorts  of  strange  Astral  shapes  gathering  and 
gathering  to  it,  like  flies  around  a  honeycomb.  There  were  also 
Earth-bound  Spirits  of  mortals  that  clustered  most  closely  round 
the  circle,  and  showed  themselves  from  time  to  time  amidst  the 
strangely  vanishing  and  re-appearing  phantoms  of  the  Astral 
Plane. 

To  have  sought  for  anything  like  a  coherent  response  to  any 
question  under  such  conditions  would  have  been  idle  in  the  last 
degree,  and  the  priests  did  not  seem  to  seek  for  it,  but  contented 
themselves  by  putting  their  own  interpretations  on  all  the  phe- 
nomena that  appeared.  Confusion  reigned  supreme.  Here  a 
Spirit  of  the  Earth  Plane  would  seize  upon  as  much  materiality 
as  he  could  and  show  himself,  speaking  or  gesticulating,  or  even 
playing  some  mischievous  prank  if  he  felt  inclined,  till  a  stronger 
Spirit  came  and  wrested  his  hastily  made  form  of  materiality 
from  him,  as  he  might  have  dragged  off  his  cloak.  Some  clashed 
the  great  brass  cymbals  together  in  a  furious  manner;  others  beat 
gongs,  or  twanged  discordantly  upon  a  harp;  others  carried 
various  objects  from  different  parts  of  the  Temple  and  heaped 
them  upon  the  floor.  Some  danced,  and  made  wild,  savage  cries 
of  joy  or  rage.  Then  the  priests  said  the  Gods  were  angry,  or 
that  'they  were  pleased.  Some  launched  forth  into  the  most 
fearful  denunciation  of  certain  persons  still  in  the  flesh,  and  com- 
manded that  they  should  be  offered  up  as  sacrifices  to  appease 
the  Gods.  Others  gave  the  most  horrible  accounts  of  their 
occupations,  and  declared  such  were  the  practices  these  Gods 
desired  man  to  imitate.  Others  howled  and  prayed,  while  in 
and  out  there  flitted  continually  those  multitudinous  hosts  of 
Astral  Beings  whose  curious  bodies  became  visible  while  they 
floated  in  the  magnetic  cloud  around  the  medium,  even  as  insects 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN          237 

may  be  seen  on  a  dark  night  flitting  in  the  light  of  a  lamp.  Now 
and  again  the  very  emanations  cast  off  by  the  bodies  and  minds 
of  the  circle  of  priests  would  even  take  shape,  and  show  them- 
selves for  a  brief  moment  in  this  densely  material  atmosphere 
of  vital  magnetism. 

And  this  wild,  incoherent  jumble  of  everything  earthly  and 
unearthly  was  called  "seeking  inspiration  from  the  Gods.'* 

At  last  the  power  thrown  off  by  the  medium  became  exhausted. 
The  strange  throng  of  Spirits  became  invisible,  and  the  medium, 
more  dead  than  alive,  was  left  to  recover  as  best  he  could,  while 
the  priests  dispersed  to  engage  in  some  fresh  pursuit. 

"Is  not  such  a  gathering  as  that  worse  than  a  mockery?" 
said  the  Angel  in  a  low,  stern  voice.  "Can  men  dare  to  think 
that  they  can  come  into  the  presence  of  the  Supreme  by  methods 
such  as  these?  The  minds  of  these  priests  are  full,  each  of  his 
own  petty  ambitions,  his  own  greedy  cares.  They  come  fresh 
from  the  interests  and  excitements  of  their  earthly  lives,  intent 
upon  all  that  can  minister  to  their  own  creature  comforts,  en- 
grossed by  the  thoughts  of  their  petty  triumphs  over  one  another, 
or  over  some  rival  priesthood,  and  they  regard  such  a  meeting  as 
this  rather  as  a  change  of  excitement  or  a  means  of  obtaining  the 
sanction  of  the  Gods  for  some  meditated  scheme,  than  as  the 
solemn  and  sacred  means  of  communion  between  the  strugglers  of 
the  mortal  life  and  those  whose  trials  and  probations,  whose  sacrifi- 
ces and  noble  aspirations,  have  raised  them  into  the  glorious  realms 
of  Immortality.  As  ye  sow,  so  shall  ye  reap,  and  if  thou  dost  sow 
the  seeds  of  hypocrisy  and  frivolity,  of  deceit  and  immorality,  in 
thy  daily  life  of  Earth,  verily  the  harvest  of  Spiritual  results  which 
thou  shalt  reap  shall  be  the  blossoming  into  life  of  all  thine  own 
evil,  deceitful  thoughts.  Men  may  take  these  mediums  and 
place  them  where  all  temptations  may  be  shut  away  from  them,  but 
if  ye  surround  them  with  the  evil  or  the  frivolous  or  the  dishonest 
amongst  mortal  men,  there  will  be  no  method  by  which  ye  can 
prevent  untrue  or  foolish  responses  being  given  through  the 
medium's  powers.  Like  attracts  like  in  the  Spirit  World  as  on 
Earth,  and  if  those  around  a  medium  be  impure  or  deceitful  the 
magnetic  aura  of  the  Sensitive  will  only  serve  as  a  vehicle  for  the 
impure  or  deceitful  of  the  Spirit  World  to  show  themselves  and 
give  their  responses.  The  purity  of  the  medium  may  for  a  time 
prevent  the  free  use  of  his  power  by  such  Spirits,  but  the  oftener 
he  is  subjected  to  the  influence  of  the  impure  magnetism  of  deceit- 


238  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

ful  or  evil  mortals  the  more  contaminated  will  even  the  purity 
of  his  aura  become,  and  the  more  easily  will  the  low  and  evil  in 
Spirit  life  be  able  to  make  use  of  his  powers,  till  at  last  they 
will  even  fasten  upon  him  as  ye  see  these  vampire  Spirits  have 
done  here,  and  if  the  life  of  the  medium  be  prolonged  for  a 
sufficient  time  they  will  gradually  cause  him  to  experience  all 
their  own  evil  desires,  and  at  last  so  control  his  body  that  he 
becomes  a  mere  tool  in  their  hands,  an  instrument  for  the  gratifi- 
cation of  their  passions. 

"The  power  of  communion  with  the  Spirits  of  the  mighty 
Dead  is  a  great  and  wondrous  privilege,  a  boon  granted  by  a 
loving  Father  to  his  suffering  and  struggling  children  in  the  flesh. 
But  if  this  privilege  be  abused,  if  it  be  regarded  as  a  pastime,  a 
curious  species  of  phenomena,  a  sort  of  jugglery  by  whose  aid 
the  ignorant  and  superstitious  are  to  be  over-awed,  and  those  who 
can  exercise  this  power  enriched,  then  it  becomes  a  danger,  not 
a  benefit,  a  curse,  not  a  blessing,  and  it  were  better  to  close  again 
the  door,  of  communication  between  the  two  worlds  rather  than 
suffer  it  to  become  a  pitfall  to  the  ignorant  and  unwary. 

"The  early  deaths  of  these  poor  Sensitives  is  in  truth  a  mercy 
for  them,  for  since  escape  from  this  Temple  is  impossible  in  any 
other  way,  and  though  while  their  power  remains,  a  certain  super- 
stitious feeling  preserves  them  from  actual  moral  or  physical 
injury  at  the  hands  of  these  priests,  yet  were  they  once  to  lose 
this  power, — as  they  inevitably  must  do  under  a  prolongation  of 
such  conditions, — then*  fate  would  be  one  of  such  degradation 
physically  and  spiritually  that  any  death  however  horrible  would 
be  a  mercy  in  comparison. 

"But  see,  in  yonder  chamber  there  is  a  young  maid  who  is 
menaced  by  a  fate  worse  than  any  death,  for  since  she  hath  not 
yet  been  formally  dedicated  unto  the  'Gods  she  hath  not  even 
that  shadowy  mantle  of  sanctity  to  protect  her.  Her  beauty 
hath  awakened  the  voluptuous  admiration  of  one  of  these  priests, 
and  he  hath  persuaded  her  family  to  place  her  within  these  walls, 
under  the  pretext  that  the  Gods  have  specially  desired  her  service. 
The  circumstance  that  she  hath  unquestionably  'certain  spiritual 
gifts  hath  given  color  to  this  idea,  and  this  evening  she  hath  been 
brought  into  this  Temple." 

He  pointed  to  a  small  chamber  in  a  different  part  of  the 
Temple  from  that  which  I  had  been  studying,  and  I  saw  a  young 
and  very  lovely  maid,  scarce  fifteen  years  of  age,  lying  slumber- 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINIZMAN  239 

ing  on  a  pile  of  very  soft  cushions.  She  had  evidently  wept  her- 
self to  sleep,  for  the  tears  trembled  still  upon  the  long,  dark 
lashes  which  veiled  the  lustrous  dark  eyes.  Her  long,  dark  hair 
hung  about  her  slender,  childish  form  like  a  veil  of  night.  Her 
delicate  features  were  beautiful  in  the  extreme,  and  her  skin  white 
as  snow  and  tinged  on  either  cheek  with  a  color  as  faint  as  the 
most  delicate  tint  of  a  blush  rose,  while  her  slightly  parted  lips 
were  red  as  the  beautiful  sea  coral. 

As  I  gazed  upon  her  as  one  spell-bound  I  had  a  vague  feeling 
that  she  was  strangely  familiar  to  my  eyes,  and  then  I  remembered 
the  vague  half-seen  visions  of  my  boyhood,  when  I  had  dreamed 
of  what  the  realization  of  my  ideal  of  love  was  like,  and  I  knew 
that  this  girl,  this  lovely,  innocent  child,  was  the  embodiment 
of  those  dreams,  her  face  the  one  which  had  haunted  all  my 
dreams  of  love,  till  the  actual  vision  of  Zuleika  had  put  the  child- 
like one  to  flight  and  supplanted  it  with  the  more  material  allure- 
ments of  her  attraction;  an  attraction  which  had  never  sufficed 
to  satisfy  the  vague  longing  of  my  heart  for  my  unseen  Ideal. 
Zuleika  had  awakened  the  love  of  my  passions;  this  child  stirred 
to  its  depths  the  emotion  of  my  Soul.  I  forgot  all  things  as  I 
gazed  upon  her.  I  forgot  that  I  was  a  Spirit  and  she  a  mortal, 
and  that  between  us  there  rose  the  barrier  of  her  earthly  state. 
I  forgot  also  mine  own  aged  form  in  the  young  ardour  of  my 
heart.  I  forgot  even  her  peril.  I  was  lost  to  all  thoughts  but 
the  one  thought  of  her  innocent  loveliness,  her  helpless  youth. 

The  voice  of  the  Angel  recalled  me  to  the  realities  of  the 
moment. 

"Yea,"  said  he,  "she  is  indeed  thy  twin  Soul,  born  into  life 
in  the  Heavenly  Spheres  in  the  same  moment  as  thine  own,  and 
travelling  thence  to  find  again  her  reunion  with  thee.  The  twin 
Souls  are  as  two  halves  of  a  golden  circlet,  each  broken  and 
incomplete  without  the  other,  yet  united  they  form  the  perfect 
whole,  the  magic  circle  of  love,  whose  existence  hath  no  longer 
either  beginning  or  ending.  The  golden  ring  that  men  place 
upon  the  finger  of  their  brides  is  the  symbol  of  this  perfect  reunion. 

"It  shall  be  thy  task  to  guard  this  maid,  and  ward  off  from 
her  the  dangers  of  the  Earthly  life.  But  see  that  thou  forget  not 
to  hold  thine  own  passions  well  in  check.  See  that  thou  art  not 
betrayed  into  any  loss  of  thine  own  self-control,  or  thine  own 
calmness  of  judgment;  else  will  thy  power  to  aid  her  vanish,  and 
thy  weapons  of  defence  become  as  broken  reeds." 


24o  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

At  this  moment  I  saw  the  door  of  the  room  open  softly,  and 
the  evil  face  of  one  of  the  priests  appeared.  He  looked  cautiously 
around,  then  stealthily  glided  in,  shading  with  his  hand  a  small 
lamp  that  he  carried,  and  crept  noiselessly  and  slowly  forward 
lest  he  should  awake  his  victim  before  he  had  reached  her,  and 
her  cries  should  arouse  others  in  the  Temple. 

At  this  sight  a  perfect  tempest  of  rage  filled  my  Soul,  and 
without  a  moment's  thought  I  plunged  down  towards  the  Temple 
as  a  diver  plunges  into  the  sea,  but  the  moment  my  Spirit  body 
touched  the  semi-material  cloud  that  hung  around  the  building 
my  passage  was  arrested,  and  instead  of  penetrating  into  it  I 
floated  on  its  surface,  its  density  being  as  great  compared  to  the 
lightness  of  my  Spirit  body  as  water  is  to  a  piece  of  cork,  and  I 
was  as  unable  to  sink  down  through  it  as  the  cork  is  to  sink  under 
water.  Half  frantic  in  my  anxiety  I  called  upon  the  Angel  for 
help,  and  as  I  did  so  I  saw  that  he  was  rapidly  gathering  from 
the  atmosphere  of  this  cloud  I  found  so  impenetrable  long  threads 
of  parti-colored  vapor,  for  they  were  as  immaterial  as  streams  of 
gas,  and  as  fine  as  the  strands  of  a  spider's  web. 

As  I  turned  to  look  at  him  he  suddenly  threw  over  me  the 
mass  of  vapory  material  he  had  been  weaving,  and  as  it  fell 
around  me  like  a  robe  I  found  that  I  was  clad  in  a  complete 
body  of  the  Astral  Plane;  a  body  so  heavy  in  comparison  with 
my  own  Spirit  that  it  felt  like  a  suit  of  heavy  armour,  while 
my  grey  robes  changed  to  the  color  of  black.  No  longer  did  the 
cloud  of  Astral  vapor  resist  my  passage.  I  sank  down  like  a 
stone  sinking  through  water,  and  ere  the  vile  priest  could  touch 
my  beloved  I  stood  between  them. 

In  the  anger  of  the  moment  the  instinct  of  my  earthly  life 
came  back  to  me,  and  involuntarily  I  felt  in  my  girdle  for  my 
dagger  that  I  might  stab  the  treacherous  hound  where  he  stood. 
But  weapon  I  had  none  save  my  hands,  and  I  tried  to  grip  him 
and  fling  him  to  the  ground.  And  even  as  I  had  found 
when  in  my  Spirit  body  I  had  sought  to  attack  Selim,  the  earthly 
body  of  the  priest  acted  like  a  case  of  slippery  armour  of  which 
my  Spirit  hands  could  gain  no  grip,  and  the  man  crept  steadily 
on.  Trembling  with  rage  and  apprehension  I  looked  around 
to  see  if  there  were  no  means  at  hand  to  aid  me,  nothing  whereby 
I  could  arrest  his  progress.  And  at  that  moment  a  fearful  temp- 
tation assailed  me,  for  I  saw  that,  following  the  priest  like  a  flock 
of  evil  birds,  there  came  a  troop  of  those  horrible  semi-human 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  241 

Astrals  who  had  killed  Selim  at  my  bidding,  and  for  one  brief 
instant  I  was  tempted  to  bid  them  aid  me  by  killing  this  vile  man. 
Only  for  one  brief  instant,  I  thank  God.  The  next  I  remembered 
the  warning  of  the  Angel  to  keep  control  of  my  own  passions, 
and  with  a  cry  to  him  for  aid  I  stepped  back  and  stood  between 
the  furtively  gliding  priest  and  the  still  sleeping  girl. 

As  I  did  so  a  sudden  light  streamed  down  into  the  room  and 
lit  up  the  corner  where  I  stood,  and  in  that  moment  I  knew  that 
I  had  become  visible  to  the  startled  priest,  for  he  dropped  the 
lamp  with  a  crash  upon  the  floor  and  sank  involuntarily  upon 
his  knees  in  the  extremity  of  his  surprise  and  alarm. 

"Get  thee  gone,  thou  shameless  coward,  thou  vile  unholy 
priest,"  cried  I,  in  a  voice  that  trembled  with  rage  in  spite  of  all 
my  efforts  to  steady  it.  "Get  thee  gone,  and  pollute  not  the 
sacredness  of  this  chamber  of  holy  innocence  with  thy  presence. 
Hast  thou  no  fear  of  those  Gods  whom  thou  dost  profess  to 
worship,  since  thou  would st  lay  thy  sacrilegious  hands  on  one 
whom  thou  didst  say  was  to  be  dedicated  to  their  service?  Art 
thou  not  afraid  that  thou  wilt  call  down  the  lightning  of  the 
offended  Deity  upon  thine  evil  head?"  and  I  advanced  menacingly 
towards  the  now  abjectly  cowering  priest.  But  ere  I  had  taken 
two  steps  towards  him  he  sprang  up  and  rushed  in  wild  terror 
from  the  room.  Had  I  possessed  the  material  bodies  of  half  a 
dozen  mortal  men  I  could  not  so  effectually  have  routed  him,  or 
set  up  so  strong  a  barrier  against  his  return  as  my  sudden  appear- 
ance in  the  Spirit  had  done. 


242  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A   SECOND   DANGER   TO    IANTHE;    I  AM  TEMPTED 
AND  AGAIN  FALL 

As  the  priest  vanished  the  light  also  died  out,  and  I  turned  to 
speak  to  the  child,  who  had  sprung  up  in  the  first  moment  of  her 
alarm,  but  who,  with  a  self-control  rare  in  one  of  her  sex  and 
age,  had  forborne  to  cry  out.  I  had  once  more  become  invisible, 
but  I  could  still  make  my  voice  audible,  and  I  answered  her 
that  she  had  nothing  to  fear,  as  I  was  there  to  protect  her. 

"Who  art  thou?"  said  she  softly.  "Art  thou  an  Angel,  or 
one  of  the  Patriarchs  whom  God  hath  sent  because  I  prayed  to 
him  last  night?" 

Her  words  gave  me  a  strange  pang,  for  they  reminded  me 
that  though  my  heart  was  young  yet  my  own  acts  had  given  me 
the  body  of  an  old  man,  while  she  was  but  a  child.  And  I 
answered  sadly: 

"I  am  no  Angel,  neither  am  I  a  Patriarch.  I  was  not  old 
when  I  left  the  life  of  Earth.  I  am  only  a  poor  Spirit  who  loves 
thee,  and  would  guard  thee  from  all  harm." 

"And  if  thou  art  a  Spirit  why  doth  thy  voice  sound  so  sad?" 
replied  she  tenderly.  "Are  not  all  the  good  Spirits  happy  in 
Heaven?" 

"Yea,  but  I  am  not  in  Heaven,"  said  I,  "I  am  not  fit  for 
Heaven  yet,  oh  fair  child.  To  be  near  thee  and  to  help  thee  is 
as  Paradise  to  me,  for  I  long  for  some  one  to  love  me,  and 
methinks  thou  wilt  do  that  surely,  my  sweet  maid." 

"I  will  love  thee  if  that  will  make  thee  less  sad,"  said  she 
simply.  "I  have  left  all  I  love  behind  me,  and  I  too  am  sad. 
Ah!  why  was  I  brought  here?"  she  wailed  suddenly  in  a  burst 
of  childish  grief.  "Why  did  the  Gods  wish  for  me?  I  was  so 
happy  with  those  I  loved,  why  should  the  Gods,  who  have  all 
the  world  to  worship  them,  seek  to  make  me  also  come  to  serve 
them?  I  prayed  to  them  in  our  little  valley  every  day,  but  I 
feel  as  though  I  could  not  pray  to  them  in  this  place;  its  air 
stifles  me,  and  these  grim  walls  only  make  me  weep." 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  243 

Then  I  drew  very  near  to  her,  and  kneeling  down  beside  her 
put  my  arms  around  the  gentle  child  as  tenderly  as  her  mother 
might  have  done,  and  I  drew  the  pretty  head  unto  my  bosom, 
and  pressed  my  kisses  softly  upon  her  cheeks  and  trembling  lips, 
and  stroked  with  my  hand  the  long,  flowing  hair,  till  I  soothed 
her  grief.  I  whispered  to  her  that  she  should  not  stay  there 
long.  I  would  help  her  to  go  away,  for  the  Gods  sought  not  to 
imprison  any  one  between  four  gloomy  walls;  that  it  was  only 
men,  ignorant  men,  who  did  that,  and  that  God  would  send  his 
good  Angels  to  guard  her  arid  help  her. 

And  so  at  last  she  fell  asleep  with  one  arm  around  my  neck, 
and  her  fair  head  resting  on  my  shoulder. 

My  strange  Astral  body  still  clothed  me,  but  its  material  form 
had  faded  away  again,  while  the  room,  as  I  have  said,  was  in 
darkness  once  more. 

I  think  I  must  have  passed  an  hour  or  so  of  earth  time  while 
I  thus  held  my  beloved  in  my  arms,  when  again  the  door  opened 
softly,  and  this  time  a  woman  entered.  Such  a  woman !  Such 
an  unhappy,  degraded  specimen  of  her  sex!  With  haggard, 
sunken  eyes,  wild  hair,  and  half-clothed  figure.  She 
was  still  young  in  years,  but  old  in  shame  and  misery.  In  this 
poor  creature  I  recognized  another  victim  of  the  evil  men  within 
this  Temple  of  evil.  I  saw  that  she  had  once  been  as  fair  and 
innocent  as  the  child  beside  me,  and  had  been  dragged  down 
step  by  step  to  her  present  level  of  degradation.  I  saw  that, 
strange  as  it  may  appear,  she  cherished  a  wild,  mad  love  for  the 
man  to  whom  before  all  others  she  owed  her  ruin,  and  that  with 
the  instinct  of  jealousy  she  had  divined  his  passion  for  the  fair 
girl  in  my  arms  and  had  watched  him  enter  and  leave  the  chamber, 
though  she  little  guessed  why  he  had  fled  so  hastily,  and  thought 
that  it  was  because  he  had  heard  some  noise  in  the  Temple. 

In  a  half-crazed  fashion  the  unfortunate  woman  had  con- 
ceived a  violent  hatred  for  the  innocent  girl  who  had  last  attracted 
the  notice  of  the  man  to  whom  she  still  clung,  and  she  had  re- 
solved to  poison  the  object  of  her  dislike.  As  she  approached  I 
.observed  that  she  carried  in  her  hand  a  small  phial,  one  drop 
of  which  was  certain  death  to  those  who  inhaled  its  odour.  She 
also  carried  a  rose,  and  as  she  drew  near  to  the  girl  she  put  down 
her  little  lamp  and  dropped  two  drops  from  the  phial  into  the 
heart  of  the  rose,  and  then  drew  near  the  sleeper. 

For  the  second  time  that  night  a  terrible  temptation  assailed 


244  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

me.  This  time  it  was  my  love  that  made  me  weak,  for  as  I 
looked  at  that  poor  degraded  woman  and  thought  that  the  gentle 
child  in  my  arms  might  be  menaced  by  a  similar  fate,  while  I 
might  be  powerless  to  save  her,  the  thought  came  to  me  of  how 
sweet  it  would  be  were  she  to  die  now,  so  young,  so  pure,  so 
unsullied  by  the  contamination  of  the  earthly  life,  and  thus  place 
the  barrier  of  Death  between  her  and  all  danger,  while  Death 
would  also  withdraw  that  barrier  of  mortality  that  interposed 
so  cruelly  between  my  Soul  and  hers.  How  sweet  to  let  her 
earthly  body  die,  and  then  take  her  fair  Spirit  to  dwell  with 
me  in  the  Spirit  Land  forever. 

Some  voice  of  warning  whispered  to  me  that  to  do  so  would 
be  no  less  a  murder  than  if  my  own  hands  administered  the  poison, 
but  I  put  the  thought  aside,  and  argued  with  myself  that  I  had 
nothing  to  do  with  it;  I  had  only  to  stand  aside  for  one  moment 
and  the  deed  was  done,  and  my  beloved  would  waken  no  more 
on  Earth,  but  in  my  arms  she  would  wake  in  the  Spirit  World. 
Was  she  not  my  twin  Soul?  Had  I  not  found  her  at  last,  and 
who  then  could  part  us? 

And  like  an  avenging  Spirit  Death  answered  me.  For  as  I 
argued  with  myself  the  woman  had  drawn  near  enough  to  drop 
her  poisoned  flower  upon  my  darling's  breast,  and  in  one  instant 
before  I  had  well  realized  what  had  been  done,  a  faint  tremor 
passed  over  the  slender  frame,  then  another  and  another  more 
violent,  and  then  the  sleeping  earthly  form  I  held  lay  still,  asleep 
for  ever. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

MY  PUNISHMENT 

At  first  a  wild  joy  possessed  me.  I  kissed  and  kissed  again 
the  still  warm  body  that  lay  in  my  arms;  and  then  a  chill  fear 
crept  over  me,  for  the  Spirit  within  stirred  not  at  my  touch;  it 
lay  still,  as  if  Soul  and  body  alike  were  dead. 

I  looked  around  me  for  some  one  to  aid  me,  or  explain  why 
the  Soul  released  not  itself  from  that  form  of  clay,  and  came  to 
nestle  in  my  breast,  and  I  saw  floating  down  from  the  far  Heavens 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  245 

\ 

a  group  of  White  Angels.  They  seemed  to  come  from  a  far  off 
Silver  Star  which  I  could  dimly  see,  and  they  floated  down  and 
down  to  where  I  knelt  beside  my  love.  They  were  twelve  in  number 
and  their  silver  wings  shone  with  a  brightness  that  well  nigh 
blinded  mine  eyes.  They  had  brought  with  them  a  car,  shaped 
like  a  wild  white  swan  and  lined,  I  thought,  with  softest  down. 
They  spoke  not  to  me,  but  motioned  to  me  to  stand  aside.  I 
pressed  one  last  kiss  upon  the  unconscious  lips  of  my  dead  love, 
and  then,  like  one  who  moves  in  a  strange  dream,  I  drew  back, 
and  let  them  form  a  circle  round  my  darling.  I  saw  them  making 
passes  over  the  silent  form  with  their  white  hands  as  they  hovered 
around  the  bier,  and  then  at  last  I  saw  the  Spirit  rise  through 
the  body  as  though  it  had  been  a  covering  of  vapor,  and  the 
White  Angels  bow  their  heads  as  though  in  prayer,  while  their 
extended  arms  received  the  new  born  Spirit.  Then  they  laid  it 
in  the  couch  of  snowy  down  and  gathered  with  outspread  wings 
around  it. 

I  tried  to  go  near  to  look  at  my  beloved,  to  touch  her,  to 
follow  her,  for  the  vague  fear  of  some  great  catastrophe  was 
clutching  at  my  heart  and  turning  its  warm  blood  to  ice  with 
the  anguish  of  a  growing  despair.  And  the  Angels  waved  me 
back,  and  one  who  seemed  like  a  man  with  a  shining  helmet  of 
silver  turned  to  me  and  said : 

"Thou  canst  not  follow  her  now  for  she  belongs  to  the  Spheres 
of  the  Silver  Star,  and  within  those  Spheres  only  those  Souls  which 
are  pure  and  unsullied  by  all  the  evils  of  Earth  can  enter.  Thou 
canst  not  touch  her  now,  for  thy  hands  are  soiled  with  the  things 
of  Earth,  and  thy  garments  are  dyed  with  the  crimson  stain  of  its 
passions." 

His  voice  fell  upon  mine  ear  with  the  clear,  cold  ring  of  a 
silver  bell,  unrelieved  by  a  single  touch  of  pity  or  compassion. 
His  calm,  pure,  lofty  expression  changed  not  as  he  pronounced 
my  doom,  for  mighty  in  their  perfect  purity  as  are  these  Angels 
of  the  Silver  Star,  their  Souls  beat  not  in  response  to  human 
woe,  for  they  have  never  gauged  the  depth  of  human  suffering. 

And  as  the  Angels  spread  their  glittering  silver  wings  and 
floated  away  with  my  beloved  I  sank  upon  the  dull  earth  in  utter 
despair,  for  now  I  knew  what  I  had  done  in  the  madness  of  my 
passion,  now  I  realised  the  full,  deep  measure  of  Death's  bitter- 
ness, and  that  in  this  hour  I  had  both  found  and  lost  my  love, 
my  Twin-Soul. 


246  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


CHAPTER  XX 

MY   GUIDE  SHOWS    ME    MY   ERROR;   THE 
DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  TEMPLE 

I  was  aroused  at  last  from  my  despair  by  the  voice  of  the 
Angel  of  the  Golden  Star  calling  unto  me,  and  as  I  rejoined  him 
he  said  somewhat  sadly: 

"Thou  hast  failed  in  the  task  set  before  thee,  yet  I  marvel 
not,  for  well  do  I  know  how  strong  are  the  more  selfish  emotions 
of  our  Souls,  and  that  only  after  long  and  patient  efforts  can  we 
learn  to  hold  our  love  and  our  hate  alike  in  subjection.  Grieve  not 
too  hopelessly  for  lanthe,  thy  lost  love,  for  though  thou  canst  not 
follow  her,  thy  love  will  draw  her  to  thee  again  hereafter,  and 
thou  canst  weave  a  ladder  of  good  deeds  and  earnest  efforts  to 
purify  thy  Soul,  by  which  thou  shalt  climb  up  to  meet  her  in  the 
realms  of  the  glorious  Golden  Star.  It  is  true  that  hadst  thou 
but  resisted  this  temptation  thou  wouldst  have  reaped  joy  where 
now  thou  hast  gleaned  sorrow,  for  thou  could st  have  drawn  her 
away  from  yonder  Temple  of  iniquity,  and  thou  mightest  have 
known  many  happy  hours  as  the  guide  of  her  earthly  steps,  till 
she  had  gathered  the  knowledge  which  the  Earth  life  was  intended 
to  give  her,  and  then  might  she  indeed  have  joined  thee  in  the 
Spirit  Lands.  As  it  is,  she  will  have  to  gain  her  experience  by 
other  means,  and  thou  wilt  have  to  labor  upon  this  Earth  Plane 
for  many  years  ere  thou  shalt  wipe  away  the  stain  upon  thy  Soul 
which  thine  acquiescence  in  her  murder  hath  put  upon  it.  Nay, 
start  not;  the  motive  that  inspired  thee  was  different  from  that 
of  the  actual  doer  of  that  deed,  but  thou  wert  none  the  less  a 
partaker  in  it,  for  thy  hand  might  have  stayed  hers,  and  thou 
mightest  have  saved  that  wretched  woman  from  staining  her 
Soul  with  yet  another  sin  hadst  thou  made  one  effort  to  do  so. 
I  reproach  thee  not.  Rather  do  I  grieve  for  thee,  because  thine 
own  conscience  will  be  thy  severest  judge,  and  thine  own  empty 
heart  thy  hardest  punishment." 

I  bowed  my  head  at  the  Angel's  words,  for  in  very  truth  my 
punishment  seemed  greater  than  I  could  bear. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  247 

Again  the  Angel  aroused  me  from  my  bitter  thoughts  by 
saying : 

"Look  yonder.  See  the  means  of  deliverence  that  were  draw- 
ing near  unto  thy  beloved,  and  observe  how  the  warriors  of  the  air 
have  enlisted  a  great  host  of  Earthly  warriors  to  help  them  pull 
down  the  Temple." 

As  he  spoke  he  pointed  to  the  crest  of  the  hills  whereon  the 
Temple  stood,  and  I  saw  the  mighty  army  of  a  rival  nation  come 
pouring  like  a  living  flood  down  upon  the  Temple  and  its  defend- 
ers, attacking  them  on  all  sides,  and  overwhelming  them  with  their 
superior  numbers. 

I  saw  the  two  armies  of  the  Light  and  Dark  Spirits  contend- 
ing in  the  air  and  urging  on  those  on  Earth  to  the  conflict,  the 
Dark  Spirits  seeking  desperately  to  inspire  the  failing  courage 
of  the  defenders  of  the  Temple,  while  the  Light  Spirits  forced  on 
their  assailants  in  such  a  determined  fashion  that  one  point  of 
vantage  after  another  was  gained,  till  the  very  inner  doors  of  the 
sanctuary  were  reached.  Here  the  priests,  rendered  desperate 
by  the  death  that  threatened  them  from  every  side,  made  a  most 
courageous  resistance,  contending  for  every  "foot  of  the  sacred 
ground . 

Then  I  saw  the  woman  who  had  killed  my  beloved  rushing 
like  an  incarnate  fury  from  place  to  place  with  a  burning  torch 
in  her  hand  and  setting  fire  to  one  thing  after  another  till  the 
thick  smoke  rose  in  clouds,  and  the  fierce  flames  drove  victors 
and  vanquished  alike  to  seek  what  safety  they  could  find  in  flight, 
the  glittering  treasures  of  the  Temple  that  had  attracted  the 
cupidity  of  the  assailants  having  to  be  abandoned  to  the  all  engulf- 
ing flames. 

As  the  fire  was  at  its  height,  I  looked  down  again  to  see  if  the 
earthly  body  of  my  lost  love  yet  lay  upon  its  bier,  and  as  I  did 
so  I  shuddered  in  horror,  for  the  mad  woman  who  had  set  the 
Temple  on  fire  was  standing  beside  it  amidst  the  fierce  flames  and 
the  suffocating  smoke,  screaming  out  in  wild  joy  as  first  the  bier 
and'  then  the  still  form  upon  it  were  caught  by  the  curling  wreaths 
of  flame.  Then  the  roof  fell  in  with  a  crash,  and  the  body  of  the 
murderess  and  her  victim  were  alike  consumed  in  one  funeral  pyre. 


248  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


CHAPTER  XXI 

ASTRAL  SHELLS  OF  EARTHLY  BODIES;  THEIR 
NATURE  AND  FUNCTIONS  IN  LIFE  AND  THEIR 
APPEARANCE  AFTER  DEATH;  THE  THREE  FLUIDS 
OR  AURAS  OF  PHYSICAL  LIFE;  THE  PERFECT  AND 
PSYCHIC  NATURES;  THE  DIFFERENCE  OF  MEDIUM- 
ISTIC  QUALITIES  EXPLAINED;  VAMPIRE  ASTRALS; 
HOW  TO  DISTINGUISH  ASTRAL  BODIES  FROM 
SPIRIT  BODIES;  THE  THREE  BODIES,  MATERIAL, 
ASTRAL,  SPIRITUAL,  FOUND  IN  EVERY  PLANE, 
SOLID,  FLUIDIC,  LUMINOUS 

" Shudder  not,"  said  the  Angel,  "it  were  better  so,  for  the 
purifying  fire  will  quickest  release  the  Souls  of  the  poor  child  and 
the  sin-stained  woman  from  all  earthly  chains,  and  in  the  dark 
realms  of  the  lower  spheres  thou  must  seek  out  this  woman's 
Spirit  and  help  it  to  find  repentance  and  purification.  In  so 
doing  thou  shalt  atone  for  thine  own  share  in  her  sin.  Thou 
canst  do  nothing  now  because  her  Soul  must  find  rest  for  a  time 
ere  it  wakes  in  the  dark  regions  whither  it  has  gone.  Do  thou 
then  come  with  me  now,  and  I  shall  show  thee  why  it  is  best  that 
the  mortal  envelope  be  consumed  with  fire  rather  than  laid  in  the 
tomb  to  decay." 

The  Angel  touched  me  and  together  we  floated  away  from 
the  scene  of  horror  till  we  reached  a  large  burying  place  on  a  hill- 
side. The  graves  were  hollowed  out  of  the  rocks,  and  the  bodies 
were  in  many  cases  carefully  embalmed  and  wrapped  in  mummy 
clothes,  that  they  might  resist  decay  as  long  as  possible. 

"See,"  said  the  Angel,  "a  class  of  Astral  life  thou  hast  not 
studied  yet." 

He  pointed  as  he  spoke  to  the  crumbling  mortal  bodies,  and 
I  saw  that  over  each  there  hung  a  horrible  and  more  or  less  decayed 
replica  of  the  living  form,  a  wax-like  copy  of  the  body's  appear- 
ance at  the  moment  of  death.  In  the  case  of  those  who  had 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  249 

been  dead  for  long  years  the  Astral  shells  were  far  gone  in  decay, 
but  with  those  only  a  few  years  dead  the  forms  were  very 
complete. 

"Thou  wilt  observe,"  said  the  Angel," that  the  Astral  shell  of  one 
just  dead  is  slightly  larger  and  slightly  coarser  in  appearance  than 
the  mortal  body  was  in  life.  It  wears  the  impress  of  death  in  its 
expression  because  that  was  the  last  change  the  living  Soul  im- 
printed on  it  at  departure,  but  in  life  the  Astral  shell,  like  the 
mortal  envelope,  reflected  the  thoughts  of  the  Soul  it  covered.  It 
is  larger  than  the  mortal  envelope  because  it  was  the  outer  cover- 
ing of  it.  It  was,  in  fact,  that  cover  which  interposed  between 
the  material  body  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  Astral  Plane,  and 
it  was  the  means  by  which  the  Soul  drew  from  the  Astral  Plane 
those  subtle  elements  of  life  upon  which  the  Spirit  body  subsisted 
while  imprisoned  in  the  material  husk.  Observe  that  the  Astral 
shell  is  like  a  spongy  covering  to  all  the  organs  of  the  body;  it 
permeates  through  every  part,  enclosing  within  its  slightly  larger 
bulk  every  atom  of  materiality  with  an  atom  of  this  Astral  sub- 
stance. Its  nature  is  like  that  of  a  sponge,  for  it  draws  to  itself 
and  absorbs  the  vital  magnetism  in  the  atmosphere  as  a  sponge 
sucks  up  water.  Thou  dost  know  how  by  attraction  a  piece  of 
cloth  will  suck  up  all  the  fluid  contained  in  a  jar  of  water,  though 
only  one  corner  of  the  cloth  be  dipped  in  it.  It  is  then  by  such 
an  unconscious  mechanical  action  that  the  Astral  shell  sucks  up 
the  life  magnetism  of  any  living  body  with  which  it  may  come  in 
contact,  as  well  as  what  is  contained  in  the  life  waves  that  circu- 
late through  the  Universe.  During  its  attachment  to  the  mortal 
body  to  which  it  belongs  it  keeps  up  the  equilibrium  between  the 
Astral  and  material  life  principles  by  this  means,  and  it  remains 
attached  to  the  dead  body  as  long  as  there  is  any  of  the  material 
magnetism  left  in  it,  and  while  so  attached  it  serves  to  keep  it 
from  that  rapid  decay  which  would  ensue  were  all  connection 
between  them  to  cease." 

"Dost  thou  mean  that  this  Astral  shell  supplies  the  dead 
body  with  a  degree  of  vitality?"  I  asked. 

"Yes.  But  in  so  infinitesimal  a  degree  that  it  is  not  percep- 
tible to  mortal  senses.  The  function  of  the  Astral  shell  in  life 
was  to  thus  supply  the  mortal  body,  and  so  long  as  it  remains 
attached  to  it  it  continues  to  mechanically  perform  this  function, 
and  so  long  as  it  thus  supplies  a  measure  of  life  to  the  mortal 
body  so  long  will  that  body  act  as  a  clog  tied  to  the  Spirit,  and 


25o  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

preventing  it  from  separating  from  the  Earth  Plane,  for  the 
attachment  between  body  and  Spirit  must  be  severed  entirely 
before  the  Soul  can  rise  into  the  second  sphere.  Fire,  which  is  an 
element  at  once  material  and  Astral  in  its  nature  acts  upon  the 
atoms  of  the  Astral  shell  as  well  as  upon  the  material  atoms,  and 
disintegrates  at  one  operation  the  two  envelopes,  thus  freeing  the 
Soul  from  both.  Now  you  will  observe  that  as  the  capillary 
attraction  which  the  Astral  shell  exercises  on  all  the  vital  fluid 
within  the  range  of  its  attractive  powers  is  a  purely  involuntary 
action  on  its  part,  it  requires  no  intellectual  life  in  the  Astral  shell 
in  order  to  cause  it  to  thus  draw  life  out  of  living  things,  and  you 
will  see  how  after  the  death  of  a  person  his  Astral  shell,  if  left  still 
integrate,  can  suck  up  the  life  of  mortals  and  become  a  source  of 
danger  to  them,  so  that  a  constant  course  of  visits  to  a  cemetery 
where  an  immense  number  of  such  Astral  bodies  in  a  fresh  state 
are  congregated,  results  in  a  gradual  loss  of  vitality,  so  constant 
and  so  great  that  the  mortal  fades  away  and  dies,  literally  because 
the  Astral  life  fluid  has  been  sucked  out  of  his  body  faster  than 
he  could,  with  his  own  Astral  body,  absorb  it  again  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  sustain  that  equilibrium  between  the  ASTRAL  and 
MATERIAL  vital  fluid s  upon  which,  as  we  have  said,  the  vitality  of 
the  mortal  form  is  sustained. 

"Now  there  is  yet  another  circumstance  that  I  would  have 
thee  notice.  It  is  this,  that  the  Astral  shell,  while  it  sucks  up  and 
attracts  vitality  to  itself,  is  also  subject  to  the  force  of  attraction 
exercised  over  it  by  a  form  of  magnetism  which  is  at  once  stronger 
and  more  subtile  than  the  quality  of  magnetism  on  which  it  sub- 
sists. This  finer  form  of  magnetism  we  call  the  'Astral  magne- 
tism '  of  the  SOUL,  and  it  is  only  found  where  the  Soul  is  present, 
since  it  is  an  attribute  of  the  SOUL  itself,  and  departs  with  it  at 
its  severance  from  any  of  the  many  bodies  that  successively 
clothe  the  Soul.  In  some  mortals  this  magnetism  is  so  covered  over 
with  the  thick  layers  of  materiality  that  very  little  indeed  escapes 
during  mortal  life;  the  material  envelope  being  a  non-conductor 
serves  as  a  solid  case  to  keep  it  in.  Such  mortals  will,  therefore, 
not  attract  these  Astral  shells  left  by  their  departed  fellow  mortals, 
and  may  therefore  visit  burying  places  of  the  dead  without  any 
harm,  and  they  are  of  all  others  the  persons  best  fitted  to  perform 
the  necessary  offices  for  the  dead,  or  to  act  as  attendants  in  sick- 
ness, for  they  will  neither  absorb  infection  nor  attract  to  them- 
selves the  Astral  bodies  of  those  whom  they  attend. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  251 

"  There  are,  however,  others  so  thinly  veiled  in  materiality 
that  their  Spirits  permeate  through  all  the  fibres  of  their  mortal 
bodies,  and  their  Astral  magnetism  radiates  from  them  in  a  circle 
extending  often  to  a  considerable  distance,  and  drawing  to  them 
all  forms  of  Astral  life  and  Astral  parasites  so  that  life  is  gradu- 
ally absorbed  from  them,  and  they  pass  into  Spirit  life  to 
lie  in  a  state  of  unconsciousness  for  years.  Mortals  cannot  dis- 
cern why  they  have  declined,  drooped  and  died,  and  say  that  the 
Gods  have  taken  them  because  they  loved  them,  whereas  they 
have  simply  fallen  victims  to  the  prevailing  ignorance  of  mankind 
on  the  subtile  subject  of  Astral  influences. 

"Thou  hast  been  accustomed  to  think  of  fire  as  the  most 
natural  means  for  promoting  the  disintegration  of  the  body 
because  thou  didst  belong  to  a  faith  which  looked  not  for  a  resurrec- 
tion of  that  actual  body  of  mortality  with  which  thou  didst  part  at 
death,  but  it  is  nations  such  as  this  nation  whose  mortal  envel- 
opes we  are  now  surveying,  who,  teaching  that  the  mortal  body 
would  rise  again,  sought  to  facilitate  its  resurrection  by  retaining 
it  in  as  perfect  a  state  of  preservation  as  they  could.  They  clung  to 
the  envelope  that  they  could  see  because  they  were  unable  to 
comprehend  truly  the  idea  of  the  Soul's  existence  in  a  conscious 
state  apart  from  matter,  and  they  had  not  grasped  the  fact  that 
matter  may  pass  through  conditions  which  sublimate  it  as  well 
as  the  Soul,  till  it  becomes  a  fit  covering  for  the  immortal  Soul, 
although  no  longer  visible  to  the  coarse  degree  of  mortal  sight. 
The  only  body  they  can  conceive  of  as  rising  again  is  the  mortal 
one,  and  hence  their  desire  to  prevent  the  disintegration  of  its 
particles. 

"Thou  wilt  now  observe  that  on  closely  regarding  the  freshest 
of  these  Astral  shells  before  us  thou  canst  perceive  an  infinite 
number  of  minute  suckers  projecting  from  the  whole  surface  of 
the  Astral  body.  These  suckers  are  like  the  antennae  of  the  fly, 
but  much  more  minute  even  than  they  are,  and  by  the  magnify- 
ing powers  of  Spiritual  sight  we  can  see  that  the  surface  of  the 
Astral  body  resembles  that  of  a  fine  sponge,  the  minute  suckers 
being  like  the  tiny  points  of  the  spongy  surface.  When  an  Astral 
body  attaches  itself  to  a  living  mortal  it  is  by  means  of  these 
suckers  that  it  holds  on,  while  it  draws  the  vitality  of  its  victim 
away  like  some  parasitic  plant  that  has  fastened  on  a  tree.  To 
remove  one  of  these  Astrals  it  is  necessary  to  apply  a  strong  dose 
of  ether  saturated  with  vitriolic  acid.  This  substance  when  in 


252  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

a  vaporised  condition  acts  most  powerfully  upon  all  forms  of 
Astral  life,  and  causes  the  Astral  shell  to  shrivel  up  as  though 
vitriolic  acid  had  been  thrown  upon  a  mortal  body.  But  as  the 
mortal  has  also  his  Astral  envelope  covering  his  mortal  body,  and 
as  it  is  upon  that  the  Astral  parasite  has  fastened,  it  requires 
great  care  to  use  this  means  of  freeing  the  mortal  without  also 
injuring  him.  Moreover,  when  thou  hast  destroyed  the  adhesive 
power  of  the  Astral  parasite's  own  suckers  thou  mayest  find  that 
thou  hast  also  injured  those  of  thy  charge,  since  the  chemical 
has  acted  upon  both.  It  is  therefore  safer  to  remove  the  parasite 
by  other  and  slower  means,  although  by  so  doing  thou  would st 
have  to  allow  it  to  go  on  absorbing  for  a  longer  time  the  vitality 
of  the  mortal.  To  draw  it  away  suddenly  would  be  like  tearing 
away  leeches  that  had  fastened  on  the  skin,  and  would  be  both 
painful  and  dangerous.  Thou  must  therefore  withdraw  the 
parasite  gradually,  detaching  one  portion  of  its  suckers  after 
another  by  an  application  of  the  chemicals  sufficient  to  partially 
paralyse  them  without  destroying  them.  At  the  worst  the  mortal 
will  only  suffer  a  temporary  loss  of  his  own  powers,  and  thou 
canst  gradually  give  him  back  the  vitality  he  has  lost. 

"If,  however,  a  great  many  Astrals  cluster  upon  one  unfortu- 
nate mortal,  it  becomes  most  difficult,  if  not  well  nigh  impossible, 
to  keep  him  free  from  them,  since  the  means  of  affecting  them 
might  injure  him  also.  This  will  show  thee  why  certain  people 
with  very  magnetic  auras  must  be  guarded  from  all  chance  of 
such  accidents,  and  why  they  would  never  thrive  in  cities,  where 
on  all  hands  are  encountered  the  Astral  shells  that  hang  around 
the  dwellings  in  which  they  have  lived.  For  it  is  a  curious  cir- 
cumstance that  the  magnetism  thrown  off  in  Earth  life  hangs 
about  the  house  and  belongings  of  a  mortal,  and  attracts  his 
Spirit  to  it  after  death.  And  as  it  attracts  his  Spirit  so  also  it 
attracts  that  Astral  envelope  which  is  in  no  sense  to  be  confounded 
with  the  Spirit.  As  the  body  decays  the  Astral  decays  also,  but 
if  it  have  absorbed  an  extra  amount  of  vitality  after  'the  death  of 
the  body  by  feeding  on  the  life  of  mortals,  the  Astral  will  become 
endued  with  so  much  independent  vitality  of  its  own  that  it  will 
simply  drift  awray  from  the  decayed  body  and  enjoy  for  a  time 
an  almost  independent  existence.  A  Soulless,  unintelligent 
existence,  it  is  true,  yet  nevertheless  an  existence,  for  it  will  go  on 
absorbing  life  so  long  as  it  can  find  any  one  to  fasten  upon,  and 
as  the  dwelling  place  of  its  mortal  owner's  Earth  life  possesses 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  253 

a  certain  magnetic  attraction  for  it,  it  will  drift  back  there  as  a 
rule  in  the  first  instance,  and  hang  about  the  mortals  who  are 
in  it — a  senseless,  purposeless  wraith  of  its  former  inhabitant, 
whose  appearance  to  the  eyes  of  a  clairvoyant  will  suggest  a 
horrible  idea  of  what  the  ghost  of  a  mortal  may  be  like. 

"  Would  it  not  therefore  be  well  to  prevent  any  chance  of  this 
happening  by  destroying  at  first  the  dead  body  and  the  undesir- 
able Astral  appendage. 

"If  a  mortal  would  know  how  to  distinguish  between  the 
true  Spiritual  appearance  of  his  dead  friend  and  that  of  his  mere 
Astral  shell,  let  him  observe  that  whereas  the  SPIRIT  is  ever  intel- 
ligent looking,  and  slightly  smaller  in  features  and  form  than  he 
was  in  life  (for  the  simple  reason  that  the  mortal  body  was  like  a 
second  and  slightly  larger  covering  of  the  Spirit,  while  the  Astral 
body  was  the  third  envelope  and  the  larger  covering  of  the 
Earthly  body),  the  Astral  is  like  the  SWOLLEN  image  of  the  dead 
friend,  with  the  ghastly,  death-like  look  of  death,  and  the  dull, 
expressionless  inanimation  of  a  Soulless,  senseless,  waxen  image, 
capable  of  nothing  but  floating  like  a  noisome  weed  upon  the 
current  of  life  around  it. 

"  Such  is  the  Astral  body  after  Death  has  robbed  it  of  a  Soul.  In 
life  its  powers  are  very  different.  Like  the  Spirit  it  can  be  de- 
tached from  the  mortal  body,  and  can  be  projected  to  great  dis- 
tances from  it.  But  while  it  will  reflect  like  an  image  of  soft 
wax  every  expression  of  its  mortal  owner's  thoughts,  it  is  incap- 
able of  any  independent  thoughts  of  its  own,  or  any  action  not 
dictated  to  it  by  the  mind  that  has  projected  it.  This  duplicate 
of  a  man's  personality  would  be  visible  to  a  clairvoyant  of  a  very 
low  degree  of  power,  since  it  is  almost  material  in  its  nature,  and 
can  be  seen  where  the  true  Spirit  would  be  invisible.  Hence  the 
numerous  instances  in  which  such  apparitions  have  shown  them- 
selves, sometimes  at  the  actual  moment  of  the  death  of  the  body, 
but  most  commonly  just  before  dissolution  has  taken  place,  and 
while  the  Spirit  has  still  a  conscious  thought  projected  to  the 
friend  to  whom  his  apparition  appears. 

"When  death  has  actually  taken  place  the  Astral  may  appear, 
but  it  will  be  with  the  stamp  of  death  upon  its  waxen  features. 
The  reason  that  the  Astral  body  most  often  appears  at  the  time 
of  death  or  in  serious  illness  of  the  body,  is  because  under  such 
circumstances  the  ties  between  the  Soul  and  its  envelopes  are 
greatly  weakened,  and  any  strong  attraction  can  draw  the  Astral 


254  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

body  away.  It  is  therefore  in  cases  of  illness  that  the  Astral  is 
occasionally  found  following  a  highly  magnetic  person  in  the 
flesh  and  leaving  for  the  moment  its  own  proper  Earthly  envelope. 
Where  this  takes  place  it  greatly  diminishes  the  chances  of  the 
sick  person's  recovery,  and  it  is  better  that  highly  magnetic 
people  who  possess  Astral  rather  than  physical  magnetism, 
should  neither  officiate  as  attendants  upon  the  sick  nor  go  to 
visit  them,  as  however  kindly  the  impulse  prompting  them  to 
do  so  may  be,  it  does  not  prevent  them  from  exercising  this 
magnetic  attraction  over  the  ASTRAL  body  of  their  sick  friend. 
If  they  add  a  constant  anxious  thought  of  the  friend  to  the  mag- 
netic attraction  they  will  be  almost  certain  to  draw  the  Spirit  as 
well  as  the  Astral  of  that  friend  to  them,  in  which  case  his  chance 
of  recovery  will  be  very  precarious,  for  though  in  cases  of  serious 
illness  the  withdrawal  of  the  Spirit  alone  often  allows  a  more 
complete  rest  to  the  body  (as  in  sleep  where  the  Soul  is  often 
absent  from  the  mortal  body  with  no  injurious  consequences) 
the  withdrawal  of  both  the  Astral  envelope  and  the  Soul  itself 
at  the  same  moment  makes  the  merely  earthly  envelope  in  great 
danger  of  becoming  so  drained  of  the  vital  fluid  (by  means  of 
evaporation)  before  their  return,  that  it  is  practically  dead,  and 
becomes  incapable  of  serving  again  as  a  covering  to  the  Spirit. 
The  ties  between  it  and  the  Spirit  are  so  weakened  that  while  it 
serves  as  a  leaden  clog  to  the  Soul  that  would  leave  it  behind, 
its  rigidity  has  become  so  great  that  the  Soul  cannot  again  enter 
it.  If  the  Spirit  only  be  withdrawn  from  the  earthly  body  the 
Astral  will  go  on  absorbing  life  with  which  to  recruit  it  as  it  lies 
in  deepest  trance,  but  it  is  indeed  precarious  for  both  Soul  and 
Astral  to  quit  the  body  of  the  flesh  at  once.  Therefore  let  the 
sick  be  ever  attended  by  friends,  but  by  such  friends  as  are  not 
too  highly  magnetic,  or  rather  whose  magnetism  is  not  of  the 
Astral  degree,  then  they  will  give  out  vitality  which  the  sick  can 
absorb,  but  "will  not  at  the  same  time  attract  the  Astral  body  to 
themselves. 

"Some  will  scoff  at  these  ideas  and  say  they  are  chimerical; 
but  can  these  wise  scoffers  say  in  what  the  life  of  a  mortal  consists, 
or  of  what  nature  that  Soul  is  composed  of  which  they  speak 
so  glibly  as  explaining  all  the  wonders  of  Immortality?  Can 
they  say  what  life  is,  and  whence  it  comes,  and  whither  it  goes 
at  the  death  of  a  mortal  body?  , 

"The  projections  of  the  Astral  body  without  the  knowledge 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  255 

of  the  Spirit  may  be  termed  'Involuntary'  projections,  but  thou 
knowest  that  a  mortal  may  also  acquire  the  power  of  sending  his 
Astral  body  to  any  place  or  person  he  may  desire  to  visit  while 
his  Spirit  is  present  in  the  mortal  body,  and  in  a  perfectly  con- 
scious state,  in  quite  another  place.  It  is,  however,  only  when 
the  body  is  in  a  state  of  trance  and  the  Spirit  quiescent  that  the 
Astral  can  remain  absent  for  any  length  of  time,  otherwise  the 
waste  of  vital  power  that  takes  place  when  all  the  functions  of  the 
body  are  in  active  operation  will  cause  the  body  to  die,  as  we 
have  shown,  for  lack  of  that  vital  fluid  with  which  the  Astral 
body  is  destined  to  feed  it. 

" There  is  a  prevalent  idea  to  the  effect  that  the  Astral  body 
belongs  only  to  the  Earth  Plane  of  life;  but  this  is  an  error,  be- 
cause Astral  matter  is  a  distinct  element  in  itself;  it  is  found  in 
every  sphere  in  a  more  and  more  sublimated  quality  as  it  recedes 
from  the  earthly  centre,  where  alone  it  is  found  in  any  degree  of 
density.  It  is  the  intermediate  substance  between  matter  and 
pure  Spirit,  and  in  the  Spirit  spheres  the  Spiritual  Astral  per- 
forms the  same  function  of  nourishing  the  Spirit  body  of  those 
spheres  as  the  earthly  Astral  performs  for  the  earthly  body,  and 
Astral  Spirit  bodies  are  cast  off  along  with  the  Spiritual  envelope 
when  the  Soul  departs  for  a  higher  sphere,  just  as  earthly  Astral 
and  earth  body  are  cast  off  together  when  the  Soul  leaves  the 
Earth. 

"The  true  Soul  is  therefore  always  clad  in  a  triple  garment, 
consisting  of  first  the  Spiritual  Envelope  that  enwraps  the  Soul 
itself  and  which  is  always  of  that  higher  degree  of  spirituality 
which  belongs  to  the  sphere  immediately  above  the  one  in  which 
the  Soul  is  enjoying  its  conscious  existence.  Secondly,  there  is 
the  Envelope  belonging  to  the  sphere  of  the  Soul's  present  con- 
scious life:  i.e.,  either  of  the  Earth  when  on  Earth  or  of  §ome 
of  the  spheres  above  or  below,  according  to  the  Soul's  condition 
of  progression.  And  thirdly,  there  is  the  Astral  Envelope  of 
each  sphere,  which  serves,  as  we  have  said,  to  nourish  the  invis- 
ible Spirit  body,  and  to  link  it  with  the  second  and  visible  one. 

"In  casting  off  its  dual  envelope,  therefore,  the  Soul  never 
alters  any  essential  constituents  of  its  individuality,  it  only  passes 
into  a  more  sublimated  form  of  them,  retaining  the  most  Spiritual 
portions  of  its  former  state  in  each  succeeding  one,  and  passing 
always  into  higher  and  ever  higher  forms  of  sublimated  matter. 

"From   certain    classes  of   vampires  the  protecting   Spirits 


256  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

can  guard  man  in  a  certain  degree,  but  from  such  as  Jel-alud-din 
it  is  well  nigh  impossible  to  do  so  once  he  has  established  a  com- 
plete rapport  with  his  victim. 

"Men  see  the  things  of  the  Spirit  World  so  imperfectly  as  a 
rule  that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  they  have  confounded 
the  three  classes  of  Astral  Vampires.  There  be  some  mortals 
who  even  in  life  are  unconscious  vampires  in  a  modified  sense, 
because  from  the  strong  absorbent  powers  of  their  Astral  bodies 
and  their  own  natural  tendency  to  retain  rather  than  give  out 
again  a  corresponding  amount  of  their  own  magnetic  vitality, 
they  draw  from  those  with  whom  they  mingle  an  undue  pro- 
portion of  their  life,  and  with  very  sensitive  delicate  persons 
they  draw  so  much  away,  that  while  they  flourish  exceedingly 
themselves,  the  poor  person  whose  vitality  they  have  thus  sucked 
out  fades  and  often  dies,  without  either  the  victim  or  the  unin- 
tentional unconscious  mortal  vampire  being  aware  of  the  cause. 
More  especially  is  this  often  the  case  where  the  vampire  mortal 
is  old,  and  in  need  of  a  constant  supply  of  vital  fluid,  while  the 
victim  is  young  and  full  of  fresh  vitality.  This  idea  may  seem 
a  horrible  one  to  many  people,  yet  the  fact  exists,  and  the  remedy 
in  such  cases  is  very  simple.  Let  the  too  easily  drained  mortal 
separate  from  the  other,  and  let  some  other  mortal  who  possesses 
a  superabundance  of  vitality  (as  many  people  do)  supply  the 
unconscious  vampire  with  the  life  essence  he  or  she  may  require. 

"But  to  return  to  the  question  of  the  best  means  of  disposing 
of  the  corpses  of  mortality.  Doth  it  not  seem  to  thee  desirable 
for  all  reasons  to  hasten  as  much  as  possible  the  disintegration 
of  their  particles,  rather  than  leave  them  to  the  slow  process  of 
a  loathsome  decay,  whether  thou  dost  make  of  them  poor  mum- 
mined  relics  of  the  Departed,  or  suffer  them  to  corrupt  the  soil 
in  which  they  are  buried?" 

As  the  Angel  ceased  to  speak  I  looked  at  the  lonely  grave- 
yard lying  so  still  and  silent  under  the  dark  night  sky,  with  its 
rocky  tombs  and  its  mouldering  corpses,  its  floating  Astral 
wraiths  and  the  wandering  Earth-bound  Spirits  who  hovered 
around  their  earthly  bodies,  unable  to  sever  the  links  between 
themselves  and  those  poor  mortal  forms  for  whose  indulgence 
they  had  neglected  to  cultivate  the  higher  powers  of  the  Souls, 
so  that  the  starved  and  stunted  Spirits  could  scarce  conceive  of 
any  life  apart  from  those  poor  decaying  forms.  To  the  selfish 
and  worldly  the  links  of  materiality  are  as  giant  links,  and  for 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  257 

them  it  would  be  a  mercy  to  sever  by  the  purifying  action  of 
fire,  all  such  material  chains.  As  I  thought  of  the  utter  useless- 
ness  of  these  embalmed  bodies  to  their  dead  owners,  as  I  saw 
how  their  preservation  was  a  source  of  danger  to  dead  and  living 
alike,  1  turned  to  the  Angel  of  the  Golden  Star,  and  said: 

"Yea,  thou  art  right.  Better  a  thousand  times  the  fiery 
sepulchre  that  my  beloved  hath  found  within  yonder  blazing 
Temple  than  that  Dead  and  Living  alike  should  be  exposed  to 
the  horrors  of  such  a  state  of  things  as  thou  hast  shown  me." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE   GREEK   PHILOSOPHER;   THE  LITTLE   SHRINE; 

ABUBATHA  AGAIN;  WHY  HIS  PROGRESSION  AS  A 

SPIRIT  HAD  BEEN  SLOW;  HOW  A  SENSITIVE 

SHOULD  BE  TRAINED.     THE  FAULTS  OF 

PRIESTS     AND      MAGICIANS;      HOW 

MEDIAL   POWERS   ARE   USEFUL 

IN   SPIRIT   WORLD. 

Once  more  we  resumed  our  rapid  flight,  and  it  was  with 
strangely  mingled  feelings  of  interest  and  regret  that  I  recognised 
one  familiar  country  after  another  as  we  passed.  Very  soon  we 
alighted  amongst  a  range  of  hills  overlooking  a  city  of  the  Greek 
Empire.  Here  we  found  a  house  of  modest  yet  picturesque 
appearance,  surrounded  by  fine  trees  and  a  small  shrubbery,  in 
which  were  placed  many  graceful  statues  surrounded  by  beds  of 
fragrant  flowers. 

The  dweller  in  this  house  was  a  man  well  on  in  middle  age, 
whose  calm  noble  cast  of  feature  at  once  attracted  me.  He  was 
seated  at  a  table  with  every  variety  of  scientific  apparatus  then 
known  about  him,  and  scattered  on  the  shelves  of  the  room  I 
noticed  many  rare  and  precious  books.  I  saw  at  once  that  he  was 
a  deep  student  of  all  nature,  and  I  observed  that  many  advanced 
spirits  were  around  him,  inspiring  his  thoughts  and  directing  his 
studies,  though  he  was  himself  unconscious  of  their  presence. 


258  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

The  Spiritual  atmosphere  around  this  man  was  calm  and 
clear,  and  in  it  were  mirrored  the  great  thoughts  of  the  mighty 
dead  who  gathered  around  him. 

"That,"  said  the  Angel,  "is  one  of  Earth's  greatest  philoso- 
phers, and  it  matters  not  whether  he  believes  the  thoughts  he 
notes  down  are  his  own  or  whether  they  are  an  inspiration  from 
the  Gods,  for  they  are  true  thoughts,  and  embody  great  truths 
and  noble  teachings,  and  though  man  may  not  recognise  them 
now  they  will  live  as  vital  elements  of  Truth  for  all  time." 

Again  we  floated  away,  and  this  .time  we  stayed  our  flight 
above  a  small  mountain  Temple,  which  I  at  once  recognised  as 
the  one  where  I  had  met  Abubatha,  and  conceived  the  idea  of 
becoming  a  prophet.  It  was  in  truth  no  more  than  a  little  shrine. 
The  word  Temple  was  almost  too  important  to  use  in  describing 
it,  yet  in  this  humble  little  building  I  recognised  a  far  more  val- 
uable aid  to  man's  understanding  of  Immortality  than  in  any  of 
the  splendid  Temples  I  had  seen.  For  here  the  lamp  of  Truth 
burned  with  a  pure  and  steady  flame,  and  the  light  that  supplied 
it  came  in  almost  unbroken  rays  from  the  Higher  Spheres. 

The  Priests  were  five  in  number,  each  gifted  with  some  Spir- 
itual endowment.  In  the  case  of  four  of  them  these  gifts  were 
of  the  lower  degrees  of  power,  and  though  of  infinite  value  to 
their  possessors  in  their  daily  lives,  not  of  the  same  Spiritual 
importance  as  those  of  the  fifth  member  of  this  little  community, 
who  was  a  medium  of  the  higher  class,  and  who  in  consequence 
led  a  very  quiet  secluded  life,  never  going  beyond  the  confines  of 
the  little  Temple  or  the  sacred  grove  which  surrounded  it.  As  I 
have  already  said,  this  little  Shrine  stood  on  the  summit  of  a 
mountain,  where  it  could  catch  the  first  and  last  rays  of  the  rising 
and  setting  sun,  and  from  which  an  extensive  view  of  the  country 
round  could  be  obtained. 

Behind  the  Temple  there  was  a  small  building  where  the 
four  Priests  and  the  Sensitive  lived,  and  around  it  there  was  a 
garden  tended  by  all  the  Brothers  in  turn.  Here  they  could  sit 
and  watch  the  clouds  and  sky,  the  hills,  and  fields,  and  trees,  and 
the  approaching  figures  of  the  occasional  pilgrims  who  came  to 
pay  their  homage  at  the  little  Shrine. 

One  of  the  Brothers,  as  I  have  said,  never  left  the  precincts 
of  the  Temple,  but  the  others  went  forth  two  at  a  time  to  travel 
through  the  surrounding  country,  preaching  the  doctrines  of  their 
Order,  helping  the  suffering,  and  performing  such  minor  miracles 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  259 

of  healing  and  divination  as  their  particular  gifts  enabled  them  to 
do.  Those  who  sought  for  direct  advice  from  the  Higher  Pow- 
ers had  to  go  to  the  Temple  to  seek  for  it,  and  then  the  response 
would  be  obtained  through  the  Sensitive  who  lived  secluded  there, 
and  whom  no  one  but  his  Priestly  Brethren  ever  saw. 

The  simple  if  somewhat  narrow  lives  led  by  these  Priests  was 
at  least  free  from  all  temptations  of  ambition  and  avarice,  for 
their  fame  travelled  not  beyond  the  range  of  hills  and  valleys 
that  shut  them  in  on  all  sides,  and  the  simple  herdsmen  to  whose 
spiritual  wants  they  ministered  were  too  poor  to  offer  any  but  the 
humblest  gifts  in  return. 

Thus  only  those  who  were  animated  by  an  unselfish  love  of 
their  fellow  men  were  ever  tempted  to  come  to  this  solitary  little 
Shrine,  and  its  absence  of  wealth  and  grandeur  was  its  strongest 
safeguard  against  such  elements  of  Spiritual  deterioration  as  I 
had  seen  rising  around  the  handsome  Temple  of  Amurath. 

While  I  was  watching  the  little  Temple  I  saw  a  Spirit  ap- 
proaching me,  whose  exceeding  brightness  caused  me  to  think  at 
first  that  he  must  be  from  a  very  high  sphere.  Then,  as  he  drew 
aside  the  mantle  which  half  hid  his  face  I  saw  with  a  sense  of  joy 
that  it  was  my  beloved  friend  Abubatha,  whom  I  had  long  desired 
in  vain  to  see.  He  responded  to  my  salutation  with  great  affec- 
tion, and  in  reply  to  my  question  of  why  I  had  never  been  able 
to  see  him  except  the  one  time  when  I  had  seen  him  in  that  dream 
on  the  night  of  my  earthly  death,  he  replied : 

"At  first  Ahrinziman  I  lay  in  slumber,  for  my  Spirit  was  not 
truly  fit  for  its  great  change  when  Death  overtook  my  mortal 
frame.  I  erred  in  that  I  took  not  more  care  of  my  earthly  body. 
I  fasted  so  often  that  I  weakened  its  powers,  and  instead  of  help- 
ing to  purify  my  soul  thereby  I  only  caused  Soul  and  Body  to  part 
before  1  had  fully  gleaned  the  full  measure  of  my  Earth  experi- 
ence, and  before  my  Spirit  body  was  strong  enough  to  sustain 
existence  alone.  Hence  I  was  for  long  weak,  and  lay  in  a  semi- 
slumber,  unable  to  communicate  with  anyone  upon  Earth.  When 
I  recovered  strength  thou  wert  in  the  Temple  of  Amurath,  and 
around  thee  there  were  so  many  strong  Spirits  of  this  Earth 
Plane  that  I  could  never  approach  near  enough  to  show  myself 
to  thee.  After  that  thine  own  course  of  life  created  a  still  greater 
barrier  between  us,  and  till  that  last  hour  of  thine  Earthly  exist- 
ence I  was  never  able  to  draw  near  enough  to  warn  thee  of  the 
dangers  that  beset  thy  path.  And  since  thou  quitted  the  mortal 


26o  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

body  I  have  not  been  able  to  follow  thy  career,  and  would  gladly 
hear  through  what  experiences  the  indulgence  of  thy  passions 
hath  led  tbee." 

I  therefore  related  to  him  all  that  had  befallen  me,  to  the 
moment  when  my  own  mad  selfishness  had  deprived  me  of  my 
beautiful  Twin-Soul,  whom  I  knew  now  under  the  Greek  name 
of  lanthe,  and  whose  beauty  was  of  a  Grecian  rather  than  an 
Eastern  type.  When  I  related  how  I  had  lost  her  my  feelings  so 
overcame  me  that  I  was  unable  to  continue,  and  once  more  my 
good  friend  strove  to  comfort  me  even  as  when  a  boy  I  had 
poured  my  childish  griefs  into  his  sympathetic  ears.  When  at 
last  we  parted  I  left  Abubatha  with  a  heart  much  soothed  by  his 
almost  womanly  tenderness  of  sympathy,  and  the  thought  that  I 
should  enjoy  many  happy  hours  in  converse  with  him  lightened 
the  desolation  of  my  existence. 

From  Abubatha  I  wandered  back  to  the  Mountain  of  Medi- 
tation, from  whose  summit  I  had  reviewed  the  events  of  my  life, 
and  where  I  had  first  seen  the  Angel  of  the  Golden  Star. 

I  had  not  seated  myself  upon  the  Mountain  side  for  long  when 
I  saw  the  Angel  approaching,  and  as  I  rose  to  greet  him  he  said 
"Ahrinziman,  thou  dost  mourn  ever  over  thy  lost  lanthe,  but 
believe  me,  that  vain  grief  serves  not  to  cure  the  wound,  and  thou 
must  rouse  thyself  and  look  round  upon  the  multitudes  whose 
griefs  are  no  less  bitter,  and  in  seeking  to  comfort  others  thou 
wilt  find  the  surest  balm  for  thine  own  sorrow.  On  Earth  thou 
mayest  see  many  unequal  unions;  there  the  pure  may  be  mated 
with  the  impure,  the  good  with  the  evil;  but  in  the  Spirit  World 
it  is  not  so,  and  until  there  be  a  certain  measure  of  equality  in  the 
conditions  of  Twin-Souls  they  cannot  unite.  Thou  mayest  have 
certain  qualities  or  experiences  not  possessed  by  thy  counterpart, 
and  she  may  have  certain  others  not  possessed  by  thee,  and  yet 
ye  may  truly  be  united,  but  it  can  only  be  so  when  the  varying 
qualities  have  reached  a  stage  of  harmoniousness  in  which  union 
is  possible.  While  any  elements  conflict  ye  cannot  become  as 
one.  Therefore  it  is  that  the  Spirit  World  is  full  of  waiting 
Souls,  the  higher  spheres  as  well  as  the  lower.  For  every  Soul 
hath  its  mate,  and  sooner  or  later  must  unite  with  it.  The  dwell- 
ers of  Earth  are  apt  to  imagine  that  theirs  is  the  only  real  life,  arid 
that  all  the  rest  of  the  Soul's  existence  is  passed  in  a  condition  of 
shadow-like  immateriality.  Yet  what  error  can  be  greater  than 
thus  to  confound  the  Soul  with  the  coarse  envelope  of  its  material 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  261 

life,  and  fancy  that  in  casting  off  that  it  hath  put  aside  all  that 
gave  it  distinction  and  individuality?  And  if  the  cold  senseless 
body  of  clay  be  not  the  man  himself,  doth  it  not  follow  that  the 
soul  must  have  taken  with  it  all  that  made  his  identity?  The 
loves  and  hates,  the  passions  and  desires,  belonged  not  to  the 
body  but  to  the  Soul,  and  at  the  severance  between  them  those 
attributes  belong  still  to  the  Soul;  the  senseless  decaying  body 
feels  none  of  them.  And  if  a  man's  love  is  an  attribute  of  his 
Soul  shall  it  not, expand  with  his  Soul  in  the  Spirit  World,  and 
develop  with " each  stage  of  its  development,  till  it  finds  its  most 
perfect  expression  in  the  Spirit  Spheres?  Thou  mayest  take  a 
simple  wild  flower  of  the  Earth  and  from  it  develop  a  most  beau- 
tiful specimen  of  that  plant,  in  whose  perfection  it  is  scarcely 
possible  to  recognize  the  humble  root  from  whence  it  is 
sprung,  yet  thou  hast  changed  none  of  its  component  parts, 
thou  hast  neither  added  to  it  nor  taken  any  away:  thou  hast 
only  developed  that  which  was  most  beautiful  and  worthy  of 
development,  and  surbordinated  those  parts  whose  attributes 
were  less  worthy.  Thou  hast  but  applied  thy  knowledge  to  the 
study  of  that  plant's  possibilities,  and  from  a  poor  weed  scarce 
worth  the  trouble  of  plucking  thou  hast  cultivated  a  glorious  thing 
of  beauty,  worthy  of  a  place  in  Paradise. 

"So  with  the  Soul.  Man  on  Earth  is  as  the  wayside  weed, 
yet  may  he  develop  into  an  Angel  of  Heaven  without  leaving  one 
iota  of  his  individuality  behind,  and  the  sweet  companionship  of 
his  Twin-Soul  is  no  less  essential  to  the  perfection  of  his  happiness 
in  Heaven  than  it  was  on  Earth. 

"But  come!  I  will  show  thee  those  whose  lot  is  even  harder 
than  thine." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

I    HELP     ZULEIKA     AND      ARTEMISIA;      HOW     WE 
PROGRESS   BY   HELPING   OTHERS 

Following  out  my  newly-awakened  interest  in  Artemisia  and 
her  son  I  found  myself  in  a  little  while  beside  Selim,  wondering 
much  what  would  be  the  ultimate  fate  of  one  so  crippled  in  his 
intellectual  faculties  as  the  poor  half-witted  Prince. 


262  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

As  I  approached  the  place  where  he  amused  himself  by  hold- 
ing his  imaginary  court,  I  saw  Zuleika  standing  with  her  clasped 
hands  pressed  upon  her  forehead,  as  much  to  still  the  tumult  of 
her  thoughts  as  to  shade  her  eyes,  watching  the  infantile  amuse- 
ments of  Selim,  who  was  pretending  to  receive  an  embassy  of 
some  rival  power,  and  going  through  all  the  pantomime  appro- 
priate to  the  occasion. 

At  my  approach  she  started  and  turned  round,  saying  "Is  this 
thee,  Ahrinziman?  Art  thou  come  here  to  add  thy  reproaches  to 
my  miserable  state?" 

"Nay,  Zuleika.  The  time  for  reproach  between  us  is  past. 
In  these  regions  all  are  alike  too  unhappy  to  add  bitterness  to 
another's  lot  by  vain  reproaches." 

"Art  thou  come  then  to  seek  to  awaken  again  the  old  ties 
between  us?"  said  she  suspiciously.  "I  owe  thee  no  duty  now. 
Death  hath  severed  all  ties  between  thee  and  me.  and  even  were 
it  not  so  I  cared  not  for  thee.  Even  in  the  days  of  thy  pride  and 
power  I  would  have  given  more  for  one  smile  from  yonder  mis- 
erable pigmy  of  a  man,"  pointing  to  Selim  as  she  spoke,  "than 
for  all  the  love  and  gifts  thou  lavished  upon  me.  Yea,  even  now 
I  know  of  nothing  that  I  can  desire  so  deeply  as  to  be  suffered  to 
remain  here,  where  at  last  I  can  be  near  him.  Oh  Me!"  she 
wailed  in  a  sudden  burst  of  grief  that  surprised  me,  "Oh  Me!  Is 
there  no  hope,  no  help,  for  him  and  me?  Must  we  forever  live 
on  thus?  He,  the  poor  childish  creature  who  smiles  so  happily 
at  his  conceits,  and  I,  this  miserable  degraded  object  who  fears 
to  show  myself  to  him  now,  lest  he  should  shrink  in  horror 
from  me." 

"Zuleika,"  said  I  gravely  and  sadly,  for  her  grief  touched  me, 
"Zuleika,  between  thee  and  me  the  past  is  dead;  the  grave  has 
truly  closed  over  all  we  were  to  each  other  in  that  past,  but  never- 
theless I  also  suffer  for  my  share  in  the  passions  of  those  days,  and 
I  too  would  fain  undo  the  evils  that  have  been  wrought.  If 
thou  wilt  go  up  to  Selim  thou  wilt  find  that  he  turns  to  thee  as  to 
none  else,  disfigured  and  fallen  as  thou  art.  His  love  for  thee  is 
instinctive,  as  the  love  of  a  child  for  its  Mother,  but  no  less  deep 
and  tender,  and  thou  canst  do  for  him  what  none  other  can;  for 
between  thy  Soul  and  his  there  are  the  magnetic  links  that  ever 
unite  the  twin  halves  of  the  perfect  Soul,  and  through  thy  mind 
he  will  dimly  sense  the  things  he  cannot  perceive  at  all  with  his 
own  stunted  faculties.  I  will  show  thee  how  to  awake  his  dor- 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  263 

mant  powers,  and  so  atone  for  my  sin  in  hurrying  him  from  the 
Earthly  stage  of  life  which  was  destined  to  develop  the  first  germs 
of  his  senses  through  the  medium  of  his  material  powers." 

Zuleika's  face  brightened  with  the  first  look  of  unselfish 
pleasure  I  had  ever  seen,  as  she  said: 

"If  thou  wilt  help  us,  Ahrinziman,  I  would  have  hope.  Well 
do  I  know  how  great  are  thy  powers." 

"Nay,  it  is  not  on  my  powers  that  I  shall  now  rely,  Zuleika, 
I  shall  be  but  the  medium  for  others,  even  as  thou  wilt  be 
the  medium  for  me,  who  always  unseen  will  yet  be  working 
through  thee." 

A  deep  sigh  caused  me  to  look  round,  and  I  saw  Artemisia 
standing  beside  us. 

"Alas"  said  she,  "I  also  must  be  ever  unseen  by  mine  own 
child.  Yet  I  too  can  help  to  shield  him  with  my  love.  Ahrin- 
ziman, my  once  enemy,  my  enemy  no  more  since  thou  wilt  help 
my  child,  I  pray  thee  to  forgive  me." 

She  bowed  her  haughty  head,  and  clasping  the  hand  I  held 
out  to  her  in  token  of  amity,  bent  down  and  kissed  my  fingers, 
while  her  hot  tears  like  a  soothing  rain  relieved  the  sorrowful 
burden  of  her  heart. 


Those  on  Earth  who  have  had  the  charge  of  a  poor  imbecile 
child  will  understand  with  what  feelings  we  three  watched  for 
every  sign  of  the  returning  intellect.  How  long  and  weary  and 
fruitless  seemed  often  our  labors,  yet  how  cheered  from  time  to  time 
were  we  by  some  sudden  gleam  of  light,  some  sparkle  of  intelli- 
gence, as  little  by  little  the  stupefying  weight  of  the  animal  facul- 
ties gave  place  to  the  permeating  influence  of  the  more  Spiritual 
powers,  and  first  one  mental  shoot  and  then  another  burst  through 
the  dull  soil  of  the  Prince's  mind. 

In  our  absorption  in  watching  we  forgot  ourselves;  so  intent 
were  we  upon  his  progress  that  we  thought  not  of  our  own.  Yet 
at  times,  as  I  watched  Zuleika  and  the  Queen,  I  could  not  but 
perceive  how  the  haughty  beauty  of  Artemisia,  softened  and  chas- 
tened by  her  sorrow,  came  back  to  the  regal  features,  smoothing 
away  the  hard  lines  of  passion  and  leaving  only  the  Spiritual 
beauty  and  warmth  of  her  deep  love.  Zuleika's  girlish  grace  and 
delicacy  of  feature  came  back  again  with  all  their  old  youthful 
charm,  and  with  far  more  than  their  old  loveliness;  for  her  beauty 


264  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINRIMAN 

now  was  the  truly  Spiritual  beauty  of  the  unselfish  soul  that  has 
learned  to  forget  self  in  the  love  for  others. 

Of  these  changes,  however,  both  the  Queen  and  Zuleika  were 
stiil  ignorant.  Zuleika  had  almost  ceased  to  think  of  her  own 
looks,  save  with  an  occasional  pang  of  regret  lest  her  want  of 
beauty  should  be  noticed  by  Selim.  And  Artemisia,  in  the  half 
jealous  feelings  she  still  experienced  at  having  to  share  with 
Zuleika  the  love  of  her  son,  forbore  to  comment  upon  the  change 
which  she  perceived  stealing  over  Zuleika. 

At  last  the  time  came  when  I  felt  that  my  share  in  the  work 
was  over.  Selim  had  attained  to  the  growth  of  power  akin  to 
that  of  a  bright  youth  just  entering  manhood,  and  I  felt  that  he 
must  progress  henceforth  by  his  own  efforts,  no  longer  by  mine, 
and  thus  I  told  Zuleika  and  his  Mother  and  bade  them  adieu  for 
a  season.  As  I  turned  to  go  Zuleika  followed  me,  and  touching 
me  timidly  on  the  arm  said : 

"Ahrinziman,  my  brother  in  adversity,  cannot  ye  take  me 
with  you?  If  your  task  is  ended  so  also  must  be  mine,  and  I 
confess  I  would  fain  leave  now,  rather  than  wait  till  the  awakened 
perceptions  of  Selim  tell  him  how  fair  are  the  good  and  pure 
women  of  that  Earth  Plane  upon  which  you  say  he  is  now  to 
dwell,  and  how  haggard  and  ugly  to  look  upon  am  I.  He  clings 
to  me  now  as  to  a  dear  sister.  Alas !  What  if  some  time  he  should 
should  turn  from  me  in  disgust  at  reading  what  I  have  been." 

Her  voice  faltered,  and  she  turned  away  her  head  to  hide  her 
tears.  As  for  me,  as  I  looked  upon  her  I  could  not  but  smile  and 
sigh:  sigh  to  think  of  the  sweetness  of  the  Spiritual  love  that  I 
could  perceive  was  awakened  in  her  heart,  and  which  made  the 
admiration  and  the  love  of  her  Twin-Soul  a  thing  so  dear  to  her  that 
rather  than  brave  the  bitterness  of  indifference  or  dislike  (or  that 
tender  toleration  of  mere  gratitude  which  to  those  who  love  is  as  the 
gift  of  a  stone  where  one  is  hungry  and  seeks  for  bread-)  she  would 
leave  the  beloved  object  of  all  her  cares  and  go  forth  to  wander  with 
me.  I  sighed  because  her  words  brought  back  to  me  all  that  I 
in  my  blindness  had  lost  in  losing  my  lanthe,  and  I  smiled  to  see 
how  fair  she  was  and  how  unconscious  of  it.  And  I  said: 

"Fare  thee  well,  Zuleika.  Thy  path  and  mine  diverge.  For 
thee,  whose  sins  were  those  of  frivolity  and  youth,  and  who  hast 
striven  so  earnestly  to  overcome  them;  for  thee,  and  for  Selim, 
there  is  a  new  life  opening  in  the  brighter  spheres  of  the  Earth 
Plane,  where  ye  shall  both  gather  that  knowledge  of  life  of  which 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  265 

Death  deprived  you.  For  me,  my  path  lies  amidst  those  fields  of 
wide  and  dangerous  knowledge  that  I  have  elected  to  explore, 
and  wherein  thou  couldst  not  follow  me.  If  thou  dost  desire  to 
leave  here  for  a  season  do  so,  but  first  let  me  advise  thee  to  go  to 
Selim  himself  and  see  what  he  will  say  to  thy  looks.  Or  stay, 
go  yonder  and  look  into  that  crystal  stream  that  flows  near  our 
feet:  gaze  into  its  depths  and  methinks  its  waters  will  mirror  back 
to  thee  the  answer  thou  wilt  get  from  Selim." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

LONG    YEARS   OF   LABOR;   I   MEET     MY    MOTHER; 
HOW  THE  SPHERES   ARE  INTERBLENDED,   YET 
DISCREET;   THE   GATES   AND   PORTALS 

For  many  years  I  labored  in  the  dark  spheres  and  on  the 
Earth  Plane,  helping  and  comforting  those  who  were  less  fortu- 
nate than  myself.  At  times  I  enjoyed  a  season  of  rest  with  my 
good  friend  Abubatha,  and  his  patient  faith  and  happy  tempera- 
ment did  much  to  lighten  the  burden  of  my  own  cares,  and  to 
soothe  my  ever-present  remorse  for  the  loss  of  my  sweet  lanthe. 

Through  all  the  weary  waiting  years  I  never  caught  one 
glimpse  of  her  again.  No  echo  even  of  her  thoughts  could  come 
to  me.  For  the  gates  of  the  snow-white  spheres  had  shut  upon 
her,  and  to  me  they  were  ever  impenetrable.  Vain  were  all  my 
longings;  fruitless  all  my  regrets.  The  wall  that  my  own  act  had 
created  shut  her  away  from  me.  Now  and  again  at  long  intervals 
I  had  seen  the  vision  of  a  Silver  Star,  and  afar  from  it  the  Golden 
Star,  but  although  they  were  a  little  nearer  to  each  other  as  time 
passed  on  I  saw  no  signs  of  the  rays  from  the  one  crossing  the  rays 
from  the  other,  and  thus  I  knew  that  our  union  was  still  afar  off. 

As  I  wandered  on  the  Earth  Plane  and  worked  in  the  dark 
spheres  I  would  sometimes  meet  those  whose  life  threads  had 
been  intertwined  with  my  own,  and  I  knew  that  they  also  were 
working  out  their  penance,  and  gleaning  the  harvest  of  the  seeds 
which  they  had  sown. 


266  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

Mansur  I  often  saw,  and  from  his  wisdom  I  gained  much 
valuable  help;  and  as  in  time  Jel -al-ud-din  joined  us  in  our  work 
I  came  to  meet  them  very  often.  For  both  these  Spirits  the  path 
was  far  more  rugged  than  for  myself,  and  their  work  was  so  enor- 
mous that  there  was  no  possibility  for  them  to  ascend  for  many 
centuries  from  the  dark  spheres.  But  even  for  them  Hope's  Star 
shone  clear,  and  as  their  good  deeds  began  to  balance  a  little 
their  evil  ones  their  surroundings  became  less  sombre.  And  yet 
the  remorse  those  two  suffered  must  have  been  terrible,  for  at 
every  corner  fresh  consequences  of  their  evil  acts  would  rise  up 
and  confront  them,  and  only  the  great  courage  and  determina- 
tion of  the  men  could  have  enabled  them  to  struggle  on  through 
the  stupendous  mass  of  evil  which  they  had  built  up  around  them. 

I  cannot  pause  to  describe  any  of  the  strange  and  varied 
scenes  I  saw  during  this  part  of  my  labors,  for  their  records  would 
fill  volumes.  But  the  experience  I  gathered  from  them  was  of 
priceless  value  to  my  Soul. 

At  last,  after  long,  long  years  of  labor,  it  came  to  pass  that  I 
wandered  into  a  grey  valley  of  shadows  and  lay  down  to  rest,  for 
Soul  and  body  alike  were  weary,  and  I  longed  for  a  season  of 
repose. 

The  valley  was  indeed  a  strange  one,  for  everything  looked 
like  only  the  shadow  of  something  else.  The  grey  trees  that 
waved  their  branches  gently  over  head,  the  hills  that  rose  on 
either  side,  the  rocks  that  strewed  the  pathway  through  the  glen, 
even  the  misty  clouds  above  my  head,  were  all  like  the  shadowy 
reflections  of  another  land,  and  in  their  very  mistiness  there  was 
a  suggestion  of  the  things  one  sees  in  sleep.  I  lay  down  upon  the 
ground  and  almost  immediately  sank  into  a  most  sweet  slumber. 

How  long  I  lay  asleep  I  do  not  know,  but  when  I  awoke  the 
scene  around  me  had  changed,  and  I  was  in  a  new  land,  a  glorious 
land  of  golden  sunshine  and  fair  flowers.  My  grey  pilgrim's 
robe  too  was  gone,  and  youth  had  returned  to  my  face  and  form, 
for  the  Valley  of  Shadows  was  the  Gate  of  Death,  and  in  my 
sleep  I  had  passed  into  a  new  sphere. 

As  I  looked  around  me  with  delight  I  saw  my  Mother,  the 
White  Angel  of  my  childhood,  coming  towards  me,  and  the  next 
moment  Mother  and  Son,  so  long  parted,  were  clasping  each 
other  in  a  fond  embrace. 

At  first  I  could  not  speak,  my  heart  was  too  full  for  words. 
Then  I  asked  where  I  was. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRNIZIMAN  267 

"Thou  art  in  the  third  sphere,  Oh  my  son !  Thou  hast  passed 
into  it  from  the  second  sphere  below  the  Earth  where  thou  didst 
work.  Thou  mightest  have  enjoyed  the  pleasures  of  the  beau- 
tiful second  sphere  above  long  since  hadst  thou  desired  it,  but 
I  was  not  there  to  greet  thee,  and  we  thought  it  best  to  leave  thee 
at  thy  labors  .till  thou  couldst  come  here  to  me." 

Again  with  much  emotion  I  embraced  her,  and  then  I  asked 
whether  now  I  should  be  able  to  see  my  lost  lanthe.  My  Mother 
shook  her  head  sadly. 

"Not  even  yet,  Oh  my  poor  son!  canst  thou  see  thy  Beloved. 
The  Silver  Star  opens  not  its  gates  ever  to  one  who  hath  known 
the  passions  of  life.  But  thy  lanthe  shall  be  drawn  down  in  time 
to  thee,  and  will  meet  thee  in  the  lands  of  the  Golden  Star,  where 
as  yet  thou  hast  not  reached.  Here  thou  canst  dwell  with  me, 
dear  Son,  until  the  happy  time  comes  which  will  unite  thee  with 
thine  lanthe.  I  have  myself  dwelt  in  the  spheres  of  that  Silver 
Star  and  I  can  tell  thee  of  them.  My  love  for  thee  and  for  thy 
Father  drew  me  around  you  both,  and  as  I  followed  the  lives  of 
those  I  loved  I  shared  the  thoughts  and  emotions  of  the  Souls  so 
strongly  linked  with  mine;  and  I  gathered  the  experiences  of  life, 
developing  my  passions  and  living  in  my  own  hopes  and  fears  for 
thee,  until  I  was  no  longer  a  fit  dweller  in  the  spheres  of  the  Star 
of  calm  unruffled  Peace." 

"And  where,  Oh  my  Mother,  are  the  spheres  of  the  Silver 
Star?  Do  they  lie  far  from  Earth?" 

"Nay,  my  Son.  The  spheres  of  the  three  Stars  of  Passion, 
of  Innocence,  and  of  Knowledge,  that  have  for  their  symbols  the 
Crimson,  the  Silver,  and  the  Golden  Stars,  stretch  from  the  Earth 
Plane  upwards  through  all  the  spheres  of  the  planet  Earth  itself. 
They  are  divided  from  each  other  by  the  invisible  walls  of  the 
attraction  or  repulsion  which  the  qualities  of  each  exert  upon  the 
one  opposed  to  it,  so  that  they  who  belong  unto  the  Silver  Star 
can  neither  see  nor  come  in  contact  with  those  who  dwell  in  the 
rays  of  the  Crimson  Star,  for  they  act  upon  each  other  with  the 
strongest  repelling  force,  while  the  qualities  of  the  Golden  Star 
are  formed  of  a  blending  of  the  higher  faculties  of  both,  and  thus 
the  Golden  Star  hovers  ever  between  them,  and  in  its  neutral 
spheres  those  who  are  drawn  from  the  Silver  and  the  Crimson 
Stars  can  blend.  In  the  second  sphere  thou  canst  see  three 
gates.  One  is  in  the  second  sphere  below.  It  looks,  they  tell 
me,  like  a  Gate  of  Fire,  whose  flaming  portals  admit  those  whose 


268  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

passions  bring  them  into  affinity  with  the  Red  Star,  into  the 
realms  of  Darkness  which  men  call  Hell.  Thou  hast  passed  that 
Gate,  my  Son,  and  thou  knowest  into  what  lands  it  leads,  and  how 
from  that  Gate  thou  mayest  descend  into  ever  lower  and  lower 
depths  of  sin  and  passion. 

"In  the  second  sphere  above  the  Earth  there  is  the  Silver 
Gate,  wherein  all  the  innocent  and  pure,  all  those  who  die  in 
unsullied  childhood  or  unsullied  youth,  do  pass.  Its  lands  are 
lovely  to  the  eyes.  Its  realms  are  those  of  endless  peace.  Nei- 
ther passion  nor  sorrow  ever  enter  there.  Therefore  as  the 
memory  of  my  husband  and  my  child  awoke,  my  sorrow  at  part- 
ing from  them  shut  me  out  from  the  lands  within  the  Silver 
Gates,  and  I  dwelt  outside  for  many  years,  till  my  own  efforts  to 
lighten  the  sorrows  of  others  raised  me  to  this  sphere." 

"And  do  all  children  pass  into  that  land  of  the  Silver  Star?" 

"Not  all,  my  Son.  There  be  some  children  born  of  parents 
so  evil,  so  degraded,  that  they  inherit  evil  propensities,  and  learn 
even  as  children  to  follow  the  dictates  of  childish  passion.  Such 
children  remain  near  the  Earth  outside  the  Silver  Gates,  tended 
by  Spirit  guardians.  Still,  many  children  enter  the  lands  of  the 
Silver  Star,  for  most  children  are  innocent  of  evil,  in  that  they  do 
not  comprehend  the  nature  of  it. 

"And  now  the  third  Gate  that  I  would  tell  thee  of  is  also 
in  this  second  sphere  above  the  Earth.  It  is  larger  and  more 
beautiful  than  that  of  the  Silver  Star,  and  is  of  purest  Gold.  They 
who  pass  it  are  always  men  and  women  of  full  experience  and 
ripe  wisdom,  and  it  opens  only  to  those  whose  labors  have  taught 
them  the  control  of  their  passions,  and  also  given  them  the  purity 
that  comes  of  experience,  not  that  which  comes  from  irresponsible 
innocence.  Thou  hast  not  passed  that  Gate  as  yet,  but  thou 
shalt  do  so  soon,  for  it  hath  its  counterpart  in  every  sphere  (even 
as  have  each  of  the  others),  and  it  admits  the  Soul  to  the 
special  lands  which  pertain  unto  the  realms  of  the  Golden  Star  in 
each  sphere." 

"And  will  lanthe  join  me  then?"  I  asked  wistfully. 

"Alas!  No,  Ahrinziman.  Not  even  then  can  she  come  at 
once  to  thee.  She  left  the  Earth  life  so  young  and  innocent,  and 
the  Earth  ties  were  so  feeble,  that  only  after  long  years  yet  to 
come  will  she  have  gathered  an  experience  which  will  make  her 
a  fit  mate  for  thee.  Hadst  thou  but  known,  it  would  have  been 
so  easy  for  thee  to  awaken  her  emotions  while  she  was  on  Earth 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  269 

and  under  thy  care,  whereas  now  in  that  peaceful  life  of  the 
Silver  Star  her  love  may  be  asleep  for  long,  long  years.  Yet 
despair  not,  my  Son,  in  the  memory  of  that  one  hour  in  which 
thou  didst  hold  her  in  thine  arms  there  is  a  link  between  you,  and 
as  thou  dost  rise  thyself,  thy  thoughts,  freed  from  Earth,  will  rise 
more  easily  to  her." 

My  Mother's  speech  saddened  me,  for  my  hopes  had  sprung 
into  sudden  life  when  I  found  myself  in  so  fair  a  land.  Still,  I 
had  learned  now  how  short  is  Time  in  comparison  with  Eternity, 
and  I  felt  that  with  my.  Mother's  love  to  soothe  and  comfort  me 
I  could  still  struggle  to  await  in  patience  the  coming  of  my  van- 
ished love.  I  felt  this  more  especially  as  I  considered  how  many 
waiting  Souls  there  were,  whose  lives,  even  amidst  the  fair  sur- 
roundings of  the  higher  spheres,  were  still  like  my  own,  incomplete. 

"Ahrinziman,"  said  my  Mother  tenderly,  "thou  hast  wandered 
far,  my  Son :  thy  path  hath  been  long  and  weary,  but  the  days  of 
happiness  are  come  for  thee  at  last.  In  this  fair  land  thou  shalt 
dwell  with  me  and  with  thy  Father,  for  he  too  shall  shortly  join 
us  here.  And  as  in  the  dark  spheres  thou  hast  seen  all  the  woes 
that  evil  produces,  so  here  thou  shalt  see  what  joys  spring  from  the 
seeds  of  good.  Thou  hast  seen  the  dark  Genii  of  the  evil  passions 
of  man's  Soul;  now  thou  shalt  behold  the  good  Genii  of  unselfish- 
ness and  purity  and  love,  whose  ethereal  forms  float  in  the  air  of 
these  bright  lands,  and  who  have  their  dwelling  places  in  the 
cloud  palaces  of  golden  hopes  realised  and  happy  dreams  fulfilled. 
For  as  man's  evil  propensities  assume  form  and  shape  in  the 
Spirit  World  of  ethereal  life,  so  do  his  good  desires:  and  as  the 
one  is  strong  to  haunt  him  with  thoughts  of  evil,  so  are  the  others 
powerful  to  inspire  him  with  aspirations  for  that  which  is  pure 
and  good.  Thus  the  actions  and  thoughts  of  a  man's  life  react, 
not  alone  upon  himself  and  those  with  whom  he  comes  in  con- 
tact, but  upon  a  countless  multitude  whom  he  hath  never  seen, 
but  who  feel  the  influence  of  the  Good  or  Evil  Genii  which  he 
hath  created." 

My  Mother  now  took  me  by  the  hand  and  led  me  to  a  beau- 
tiful archway  of  flowers,  and  together  we  passed  into  the  fair 
gardens  of  that  Land  of  Light. 


270  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 


CHAPTER   XXV 

CONCLUSION;   THE    GATHERING  OF   MY   FRIENDS; 
MARRIAGE  AT  LAST  OF  TWIN-SOULS 

More  than  two  thousand  three  hundred  years  have  passed 
since  I  left  the  mortal  body,  and  the  history  of  the  time  in  which  I 
lived  hath  become  an  ancient  and  half-forgotten  story  to  the 
present  generation  of  mankind.  The  city  and  Palace  of  Par- 
sagherd  lie  in  ruins,  with  but  a  crumbling  heap  of  grass-grown 
stones  to  mark  where  they  once  stood. 

The  wandering  Arabs  pitch  their  tents  where  once  Kings  held 
their  court,  and  the  jackal  makes  his  lair  amidst  the  broken  frag- 
ments of  the  fatal  secret  passage. 

The  Temple  of  Amurath  hath  also  fallen  into  decay,  and  the 
Faith  of  my  forefathers  hath  become  an  almost  extinct  belief, 
kept  alive  only  by  a  scattered  remnant  of  the  ancient  Persians, 
who  worshipped  the  light  of  Purity  and  Truth  under  the  emblem 
of  the  sacred  Fire. 

And  as  I  stand  upon  a  mountain  top  in  that  bright  Spirit 
Sphere  where  I  have  dwelt  with  my  beloved  parents  for  so  long, 
and  look  down  to  Earth  to  view  again  the  scenes  of  my  Earthly 
pilgrimage,  and  mark  the  changes  Time  hath  wrought,  the  vi- 
sions of  my  past  rise  one  by  one  before  me,  showing  me  again  the 
drama  of  my  life's  story.  But  now  there  is  neither  sadness  nor 
reproach  in  the  pictures:  they  but  show  the  weaving  of  the  threads 
in  the  web  of  my  destiny. 

As  the  last  picture  fades  out  in  a  haze  of  golden  glory  I  see  all 
the  friends  whom  I  knew  or  loved  in  the  days  of  my  Earth's 
history  gathering  around  me,  or  sending  to  me  from  afar  the 
reflex  of  their  thoughts  of  me. 

I  see  first  Mansur  and  Jel-al-ud-din,  still  working  on  the  Earth 
plane  and  in  the  Dark  Spheres,  but  working  now  as  those  who 
have  conquered  the  evils  of  their  past,  and  who  are  sowing 
the  seeds  of  good  that  they  may  spring  up  and  cover  over  the 
ruins  they  once  helped  to  make,  and  veil  them  with  flowers  like 
a  mantle  of  atonement. 

I  see  next  my  fair  Mother,  clad  in  purest  white,  with  a  faint 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  271 

bordering  of  pink  to  mark  where  once  the  crimson  stained  her 
fair  white  robes.  She  wears  a  Golden  Star  upon  her  brow,  and 
she  looks  up  at  my  Father  with  the  half  shy  happy  look  of  a  young 
bride,  as  she  leans  upon  his  arm.  He  wears  no  kingly  robes  now. 
No  crown  rests  upon  his  head.  His  mantle  is  of  green  and  gold, 
but  fashioned  like  a  student's,  not  a  King's.  For  the  burdens  of 
state  sat  heavy  on  his  Soul  and  he  hath  been  glad  to  cast  them 
aside,  to  find  in  a  life  of  study  and  the  companionship  of  his 
sweet  wife  that  happiness  which  long  years  of  labor  in  the  dark 
spheres  have  won  for  him. 

With  my  parents  I  see  another  figure:  that  of  the  faithful 
friend,  the  gallant  soldier,  the  noble  patriot,  Ben  Al  Zulid.  And 
following  them  I  see  the  dusky  figure  of  that  poor  slave  whom 
my  Father's  orders  had  caused  to  be  slain,  to  guard  the  secret 
of  the  passage,  but  whom  in  Spirit  life  El  Jazid  had  raised  up 
and  helped,  till  the  wrong  of  the  past  had  been  forgiven,  if  not 
forgotten. 

Following  these  I  see  Bamba,  the  ever  faithful,  and  Zuleika 
and  Selim.  No  longer  doth  Selim  appear  as  the  grotesque  child 
with  the  face  of  an  old  man.  He  hath  grown  up  into  the  true 
understanding  and  power  of  a  man's  estate,  while  Zuleika  is  no 
longer  the  selfish  frivolous  girl,  but  a  thoughtful  gentle  woman, 
whose  own  sufferings  have  taught  her  sympathy  with  those  of 
others.  They  make  a  very  bright  looking  handsome  group,  as 
they  stand  with  smiling  faces  looking  over  to  me. 

Artemisia  stands  beside  her  son,  a  Queenly  figure  in  robes  of 
crimson  and  gold,  with  a  long  white  veil  falling  from  the  golden 
Crown  she  wears  upon  her  head .  For  Artemisia  is  one  of  nature's 
Queens,  and  her  commanding  nature  makes  of  her  a  strong  pro- 
tectress to  those  of  her  own  sex  whose  weaker  natures  make  them 
glad  to  lean  upon  her  calm  strength.  She  hath  learnt  the  secret 
of  true  sovereignty,  as  opposed  to  mere  selfish  state,  and  there  is 
no  Spirit  more  noble,  more  constant  in  her  unswerving  devotion 
to  others,  than  the  once  proud  revengful  Queen. 

As  the  vision  of  Artemisia  and  the  others  fades  away  I  see  the 
radiant  form  of  my  beloved  friend  Abubatha.  The  shining 
brightness  of  his  snowy  robes  no  words  can  ever  paint.  The  noble 
beauty  of  his  face  no  language  can  express,  as  the  dear  friend 
and  companion  of  my  boyhood  and  Spirit  life  draws  near  to  me. 

Beside  him  I  see  the  Angel  of  the  Golden  Star,  no  longer 
clad  in  grey  and  gold  but  with  robes  of  dazzling  white  and  wings 


272  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

of  glittering  gold,  while  the  Golden  Star  upon  his  forehead  shim- 
mers like  the  light  from  the  Star  of  Truth.  For  the  cycle  of  this 
Angel's  pilgrimage  is  at  last  complete,  and  he  reigns  now  in  the 
realms  of  the  glorious  Golden  Star. 

He  turns  to  me  with  a  smile,  as  he  says  "Look  up,  Ahrinziman, 
and  see  the  crowning  vision  of  joy  that  awaits  thee." 

As  he  speaks  I  hear  a  strain  of  wondrous  music,  and  I  see  a 
brilliant  cloud  of  Silver  light  appear,  and  as  it  floats  down  and 
down  to  me  I  see  that  it  is  a  vast  throng  of  the  Angels  of  the  Silver 
Star,  accompanied  by  many  youths  and  maidens  in  robes  of 
white  and  silver,  carry  flowers  which  they  scatter  around  them  as 
they  float  down  to  where  I  stand.  In  their  midst  I  see  a  great 
mass  of  white  blossoms,  like  a  cloud  of  flowers,  whereon  there 
rests  the  lovely  figure  of  my  long  lost  lanthe.  No  longer  a  child, 
but  a  gentle  maid,  with  the  sweet  child's  face  and  the  long  float- 
ing hair  I  saw  of  old.  She  is  dressed  in  white,  and  her  robes 
are  spangled  with  silver  Stars,  while  on  her  dark  hair  there  is 
a  crown  of  white  flowers,  and  over  her  head  there  is  thrown  a 
veil  of  silver  gauze. 

As  she  floats  down  I  see  again  the  vision  of  the  Silver  and 
the  Golden  Stars,  but  now  they  are  near  together.  And  as  I 
look  at  them  I  see  that  the  rays  from  the  Golden  Star  are  touch- 
ing the  Silver  one  and  turning  its  whiteness  into  Gold,  and 
I  know  that  the  hour  of  my  true  romance  hath  dawned  for  me 
at  last. 

As  my  lanthe  and  her  train  of  white  Spirits  from  the  Silver 
Star  reach  the  place  where  I  stand  I  know  why  it  is  that  all  the 
nearest  and  dearest  friends  of  my  past  have  gathered  around 
me,  and  why  even  those  whose  Spiritual  conditions  prevent 
them  from  entering  my  sphere  have  yet  projected  their  thoughts 
to  me  in  this  the  happiest  moment  of  my  existence,  that  as  we 
have  shared  life's  sorrows  we  may  also  share  its  joys,  and  it  is 
with  a  heart  full  of  deep  gratitude  for  all  their  friendship  that 
I  turn  to  greet  my  lovely  Bride. 

As  I  clasped  her  to  my  heart  I  whispered  to  her,  "Dost  thou 
remember  still  thy  Patriarch?" 

She  laughed  and  blushed,  and  raised  her  eyes  shyly  to  my 
face.  Then  for  answer  she  put  her  soft  arms  around  my  neck, 
and  laid  her  fair  head  upon  my  breast,  even  as  she  had  done 
on  that  far-away  night  when  I  had  fcund  and  lost  my  Love. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  273 


ENVOI 

Many  centuries  separate  me  from  my  earthly  life,  yet  I  have 
not  lost  one  iota  of  my  interest  in  the  lives  of  those  who  are  toil- 
ing through  their  earthly  pilgrimages.  The  faith  of  my  fore- 
fathers has  well  nigh  passed  away,  and  the  Star  of  another  Faith 
hath  risen  upon  the  earth  and  spread  its  teachings  East  and 
West,  North  and  South. 

Yet  is  not  truth  the  same  under  whatever  religious  garb 
we  find  it?— is  not  God  the  same  God,  the  same  loving  Father 
of  all  mankind,  whether  we  call  Him  by  the  name  of  the  Jewish 
Jehovah  or  that  given  to  him  by  any  other  nation  of  his  children? 
Are  they  not  all  alike  his  children,  or  can  we  believe  that  while 
he  loads  with  privileges  one  favored  race  he  will  turn  as  a  hard 
step-father  from  the  prayers  offered  to  Him  by  another,  because 
their  mode  of  worshipping  Him  is  different?  And  if  all  Re- 
ligions have  their  roots  in  the  one  fountain  of  all  truth,  may  it 
not  be  possible  that  the  restless  discontent  and  scepticism  of 
these  later  days  of  the  nineteenth  century  of  the  Christian  era, 
this  searching  amidst  the  teaching  of  the  East,  with  its  mystic 
doctrines  and  its  secrets  that  may  be  revealed  only  to  the  elect 
few  while  the  starving  many  have  their  eager  hunger  for  Light 
left  still  unsatisfied,  this  turning  to  occult  studies  in  the  hope 
that  some  new  path  may  be  found;  may  not  all  this  be  due  to 
the  efforts  of  the  Higher  Powers  to  make  man  recognise  his 
Universal  Brotherhood  as  an  actual  verity,  not  as  a  mere  ethical 
form  of  speech,  and  to  make  each  nation  recognise  the  truth 
and  beauty  that  are  enshrined  in  the  teachings  of  the  others. 
As  each  acknowledges  the  virtues  of  the  other,  as  each  nation 
and  class  recognise  the  slenderness  of  the  barrier  that  separates 
them,  and  the  sacredness  of  the  bonds  that  should  unite,  they 
are  taking  a  step  towards  the  Millennium  of  perfect  happiness 
of  which  every  people  of  the  Universe  have  dreamed. 

And  may  it  not  also  be  that  the  Spirits  of  the  Higher  Spheres 
in  seeking  to  level  the  barriers  between  nations  and  classes  and 
religions,  are  also  striving  to  draw  away  those  barriers  that 
interpose  between  Earth  and  the  Spirit  World? — and  that,  as 


274  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

in  these  days  the  march  of  education,  the  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge, the  means  of  freer  inter-communication  between  nation 
and  nation,  and  the  consequent  spread  of  freedom  of  thought 
and  liberty  of  action,  have  freed  mankind  from  many  of  the 
dangers  which  surrounded  the  intercourse  of  the  incarnate  souls 
of  earth  with  the  disencarnate  souls  of  the  Spirit  World;  those 
doors  of  communication  between  the  two  worlds  which  have 
been  so  long  closed  are  about  to  be  thrown  open  again,  that 
man's  means  of  gaining  knowledge  upon  earth  may  be  aug- 
mented by  the  clearer  knowledge  of  the  Spirit  Spheres? 

And  since  in  the  past  those  Spiritual  doors  were  closed  by 
reason  of  the  many  errors  that  crept  in,  and  the  evil  uses  to 
which  the  unscrupulous  turned  the  knowledge  which  they  gained, 
may  it  not  be  that  a  part  of  the  atoning  work  of  those  who  abused 
or  perverted  their  spiritual  advantages  in  the  past,  consists  now 
in  returning  to  the  earth  and  helping,  with  the  clearer  knowledge 
they  have  gained,  and  the  purer,  holier  desires  they  have  culti- 
vated, to  shed  anew  upon  the  world  the  glorious  knowledge  of 
the  higher  spheres  of  Spiritual  life? 


THE  END 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  275 


NOTES 

Note  A. 

This  story  came  to  me  under  peculiar  circumstances.  It  is 
printed  as  told  by  Ahrinziman  himself,  but  the  names  of  the 
characters  are  purely  fictitious  and  have  no  claim  to  historical 
accuracy.  The  accounts  given  by  historians  of  the  Persian 
history  of  that  period  are  meagre  and  often  conflicting,  although 
there  is  a  general  agreement  as  to  the  leading  events,  and  as  it 
may  interest  some  readers  to  know  who  the  actors  in  this  true 
tale  are,  I  give  the  real  names: 

El  Jazid  was  Artaxerxes  Longimanus  of  Persia,  said  by  the 
Jewish  historians  to  be  the  Ahasuerus  mentioned  in  the  Story 
of  Esther  and  Vashti.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  singularly 
handsome,  graceful  man,  tall  and  of  commanding  presence. 

Josephus,  the  Jewish  historian,  in  giving  the  story  of  Esther 
and  Vashti  expresses  the  opinion  that  the  action  of  the  King  in 
proposing  to  exhibit  his  beautiful  wife  to  his  boon  companions 
after  a  banquet  was  intended  as  an  insult  to  her  and  that  she 
was  justified  in  refusing  to  appear.  In  the  opinion  of  Josephus 
there  were  indications  of  a  private  quarrel  and  that  the  King 
took  this  public  method  of  finding  an  excuse  for  deposing  Vashti 
from  her  position  of  dignity  and  honor.  If  Artemisia  was  Vashti 
then  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  "Damaspia"  who  has  gone  down 
in  history  as  the  queen  of  Artaxerxes  was  some  other  wife  than 
Vashti.  Other  historians  ignore  the  story  of  Vashti  and  Esther. 

Artemisia  was  Vashti,  the  haughty,  beautiful  Queen  of  Ash. 

Selim  was  Xerxes,  the  only  legitimate  son  of  Artaxerxes,  who 
had  reigned  only  forty  days  when  he  was  assassinated  (it  was 
said  by  Sogdianus). 

Ahrinziman  was  Sogdianus,  the  illegitimate  son  of  Artaxerxes. 
Various  accounts  are  given  of  his  character  and  the  manner  of 
his  death,  but  all  agree  that  he  in  his  turn  was  assassinated  by 
order  of  "Ochus,"  whom  I  call  "Ahmed,"  a  third  and  illegitimate 
son  of  Artaxerxes.  Ochus  then  ascended  the  throne  and  reigned 
for  a  number  of  years. 

Ben  Al  Zulid  was  Megabyzus,  the  noted  general  of  Artaxerxes. 
The  other  characters  of  the  story  are  not  mentioned  in  history. 


276          THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

Note  B. 

In  all  discussions  as  to  the  merits  or  demerits  of  trance  me- 
diumship,  one  cannot  but  feel  that  there  is  amongst  man}"  people 
a  total  misconception  of  the  true  meaning  of  the  word  trance, 
that  term  being  applied  to  any  and  every  variety  of  hypnotic 
condition  and  to  all  forms  of  suspension  of  the  individual  con- 
sciousness. 

Strictly  speaking,  a  trance  should  mean  a  condition  of  en- 
chantment or  delight;  entrancing  meaning  to  delight  and  uplift 
the  spirit  into  a  superior  condition  of  sensation  in  which  the 
Soul,  raised  above  the  limitations  of  the  lower  or  animal  plane 
of  existence,  wanders  in  conscious  pleasure  amidst  the  highest 
thought  regions  to  which  that  Soul  can-  gain  access.  In  the 
words  of  John  of  Patmos,  one  may  describe  a  true  trance  condi- 
tion. John  of  Patmos  visited  a  sphere  with  which  he  was  men- 
tally and  magnetically  in  harmony,  and  what  he  saw  was  what 
such  a  Soul  would  enjoy  were  it  released  entirely  from  the  earth 
body,  not  merely  lifted  up  from  his  earthly  environments  for  a 
brief  period. 

In  the  perfect  trance  condition  the  Soul  retains  a  full  and 
perfect  consciousness  of  its  own  individuality,  and  is  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  as  much  awake  as  when  acting  through  the  agency 
of  its  earthly  body,  while  it  possesses  the  added  mental  power 
which  would  be  its  attribute  were  it  finally  freed  from  the  envel- 
opment of  that  earthly  envelope  which,  while  it  protects  the  Soul 
in  Earth  life,  also  dulls  and  deadens  its  finer  perceptions  and 
limits  its  power  of  mental  vision  and  its  ability  to  receive  the 
thought  waves  transmitted  from  other  minds. 

The  true  "Master  of  Magic"  is  he  who,  having  learnt  all 
which  can  enable  him  to  control  mind  incased  in  matter,  can  go 
one  step  higher  and,  freeing  himself  from  the  limitations  imposed 
by  matter,  roam  at  will  into  spheres  too  distant  for  the  Soul  to 
reach  while  clogged  by  its  grosser  envelope. 

Furthermore,  to  take  the  Soul  out  of  "the  body  into  the  free 
upper  regions  of  pure  spirit  life  is  to  give  it  the  same  spiritual 
refreshment  which  climbing  to  the  top  of  a  high  mountain  or 
sailing  upon  the  wide  ocean  gives  to  the  tired  and  jaded  mortal 
to  whom  change  of  air  often  means  a  renewal  of  life. 

Thought  is  a  universal  essence  unbounded  by  any  limita- 
tions of  time  or  space,  but  it  is  also  in  its  nature  like  "Light," 
and  capable  of  having  its  rays  refracted  and  its  illuminating 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN          277 

powers  obscured  by  the  mass  of  material  thought  atoms  which 
fill  the  atmosphere  of  planetary  life  even  as  the  material  dust 
particles  affect  the  transmission  of  a  ray  of  light. 

The  constant  giving  off  and  absorbing  again  of  every  shade 
and  variety  of  mental  and  physical  atoms  is  a  part  of  the  unceas- 
ing pulsation  of  the  life  with  which  an  inhabited  planet  teems, 
and  we  maintain  that  while  there  be  some  minds  so  powerful 
in  their  mental  grasp  of  the  thoughts  transmitted  to  them  and 
so  clear  and  strong  in  their  power  of  mental  vision,  that  they  can 
overcome  m'any  of  the  limitations  produced  by  their  earthly 
environments,  yet  even  these  lofty  and  powerful  intellects  would 
be  enabled  to  wing  their  flight  into  still  wider  thought  regions 
were  they  able  to  rise  from  their  earthly  body  and,  leaving  it  as 
the  unconscious,  unresponsive  (because  uninhabited)  tabernacle 
of  the  Soul,  travel  into  those  farther  mental  spheres  with  which 
the  degree  of  their  mental  development  put  them  in  harmony. 

A  perfect  trance,  then,  should  be  the  conscious  flight  of  the 
Soul  into  a  superior  condition  from  which  it  ought  to  return 
strengthened  and  refreshed  and  capable  of  wider  thoughts  and 
nobler  and  freer  actions  and  a  stronger  and  more  perfect  pos- 
session of  its  own  individuality.  The  true  Seers  of  all  ages  who 
have  left  behind  them  knowledge  which  is  as  valuable  now  as 
when  first  given  to  the  world,  were  Mystics  who  had  mastered 
the  true  nature  of  the  trance  condition  and  to  apply  the  word 
"trance"  to  all  those  exhibitions  of  semi-conscious  mental  aber- 
rations of  persons  whose  sensitiveness  lays  them  open  to  the 
mesmeric  control  of  either  incarnate  or  excarnate  minds,  is  to 
propagate  an  error  which  ought  long  ago  to  ha-ve  been  exploded. 
With  the  spread  of  mediumistic  development  all  and  every  variety 
and  degree  of  subconscious  conditions  have  come  to  be  classed 
as  "trances,"  yet  they  bear  no  more  resemblance  to  the  true 
trance  of  the  developed  Mystic  of  the  older  occult  "Faiths"  than 
does  the  sleep  which  is  produced  by  the  use  of  powerful  narcotic 
drugs  resemble  that  of  healthy  tired  nature. 

The  hypnotically-induced  trance  is  as  pernicious  to  the  Soul 
as  would  be  the  habitual  use  of  narcotics  to  the  body.  Whether 
the  hypnotiser  (or,  more  correctly,  the  magnetiser)  be  in  the 
flesh  or  out  of  it,  the  results  are  the  same;  an  habitual  use  of 
magnetism  to  induce  sleep  or  "trance"  is  an  evil  and  one  which 
it  would  require  a  whole  volume  to  properly  illustrate. 

The  wisest  of  spirit  intelligences  on  both  sides  of  life  do  not, 


278  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

then,  use  the  magnetic  forces  to  produce  either  trance  or  sleep, 
except  as  they  would  use  a  powerful  medicine  whose  aid  it  was 
sometimes  necessary  to  invoke  but  whose  habitual  use  was  an 
evil  even  more  deadly  than  that  which  it  was  designed  to  cure. 

The  teachers  of  the  Eastern  schools  study  to  enable  their 
pupils  to  acquire  the  power  of  conscious  spiritual  communion 
while  in  the  body,  and  the  development  of  an  equally  conscious 
power  of  leaving  the  body  while  the  conscious  spirit  is  gaining 
rest  and  knowledge  in  a  higher  condition  of  existence.  That 
the  majority  of  mediums  have  not  yet  acquired  this  perfect 
control  is  due  to  the  fact  that  very  few  are  ever  able  or  willing  to 
go  through  the  process  needful  to  gain  this  perfect  mastery  of 
their  bodies.  The  majority  do  not  even  grasp  the  idea  that 
there  is  any  need  for  more  development  than  they  have  already 
attained. 

In  the  limits  of  a  note  it  is  impossible  to  follow  out  this  sub- 
ject further,  but  since  it  is  becoming  an  accepted  fact  that  such 
things  as  "hypnotic"  trances  and  hypnotic  control  exist,  it  would 
be  well  for  thoughtful  persons  to  give  the  subject  an  intelligent 
and  careful  consideration,  regarding  as  a  dangerous,  as  well  as  a 
useful  and  often  beneficent  attribute,  this  magnetic  power  which 
lies  latent  in  so  many  people. 


CONCERNING   OBSESSIONS 

In  giving  the  Story  of  Ahrinziman  to  the  public,  those  who 
dictated  it  have  been  asked  to  add  a  note  as  to  their 
views  of  the  recent  discussions  on  Obsessions  and  other  Evils 
which  are  so  prominent  a  feature  of  the  Occult  movement  in  the 
present  day. 

First,  as  to  the  evil  effects  experienced  by  some  persons  who 
have  sat  in  circles  for  development  or  for  the  manifestations  of 
psychic  power.  The  whole  theory  of  magnetic  control  rests 
upon  a  condition  of  mutual  receptivity  being  established  between 
the  members  of  a  circle,  but  few  reflect  that  the  blending  of 
magnetisms  with  those  who  form  the  spirit  side  of  that  circle  is 
no  less  a  part  of  the  process,  and  that  without  the  aid  of  the 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  279 

magnetism  of  the  spirits  present  nothing  belonging  to  the  spirit 
side  of  life  would  be  obtained.  Now,  in  forming  a  circle  which 
sits  in  a  large  city,  how  are  you  going  to  insure  absolute  freedom 
from  the  intrusions  of  the  low  or  evil  earth-bound  spirits  who 
crowd  the  streets  of  a  large  city?  The  magnetic  aura  created 
by  the  circle  hangs  in  a  cloud  around  them  and  draws  spirits  to 
it  even  as  a  magnet  draws  iron  and  steel,  and  everything  bright 
or  rusty, — useful  tools  or  dangerous  weapons, —  will  be  attracted 
by  the  powerful  magnet. 

The  popular  idea  that  the  "good  intelligences"  who  guard 
the  meeting  will  prove  strong  enough  to  insure  protection,  has 
not  always  proved  correct;  for  which  reason  we  are  not  in  favour 
of  circles  for  physical  phenomena  being  held  in  large  cities. 

Supposing,  however,  that  they  are  held;  then  it  should  be 
remembered  that  the  intruding  spirits  will  give  off  their  magnet- 
ism to  blend  with  that  of  the  good  spirits,  and  thus  magnetic 
threads  will  be  formed  between  them  and  those  members  of  the 
circle  who  are  sensitive  to  magnetic  influences,  for  not  until  a 
complete  fusion  of  magnetisms  takes  place  is  there  a  distillation 
of  that  vitalised  ether  upon  which  genuine  manifestations  depend. 
If  you  once  admit  that  the  aura  of  a  good  and  pure  person  can 
be  poisoned  by  their  absorbing  the  tainted  mixture  from  a  mixed 
circle  of  all  sorts  of  mortals  and  spirits,  you  will  also  admit  that 
the  good  persons  can  carry  home  with  them  a  sufficient  portion 
of  that  posioned  magnetism  to  form  the  nucleus  of  a  magnetic 
state  congenial  to  the  low  and  depraved  spirits,  and  into  which 
any  of  them  can  enter  a  second  time  without  the  aid  of  the  circle. 
The  oftener  the  low  spirit  visits  a  good  and  pure  mortal  the 
more  completely  will  that  mortal's  aura  become  poisoned  by  the 
magnetism  of  the  low  spirit  and  the  easier  will  it  be  for  other 
low  spirits  to  follow  the  first  intruder,  and  the  more  difficult  will 
be  the  task  of  breaking  off  the  rapport  which  has  been  established 
or  limiting  these  low  spirits'  power  of  controlling  the  mortal. 

In  all  physical  phenomena  one  essential  element  required 
to  form  the  complete  magnetic  chain  from  mortal  conditions  to 
the  higher  spirit  states,  is  the  magnetism  of  spirits  upon  the 
Earth  Plane, — that  being  the  condition  of  magnetic  life  which 
forms  the  final  link  with  man.  Therefore  the  presence  and  aid 
of  earth-bound  spirits  is  always  needful  to  such  manifestations, 
and  even  if  these  earth-bound  spirits  are  not  evil,  but  anxious  to 
do  good,  their  continual  control  of  a  very  highly  sensitive  medium 


280  THF  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

must  do  harm  because,  owing  to  the  nature  and  structure  of 
that  Astral  body  of  the  earth  plane  (in  which  an  earth-bound 
spirit  is  imprisoned),  the  spirit  cannot  help  absorbing  from  the 
mortal  his  finer  life  essence.  A  draught  of  that  vitalised 
ether  which  is  distilled  at  a  seance  for  physical  phenomena — 
most  particularly  for  materialisation —  is  like  a  drink  of  cham- 
pagne to  a  mortal  or  an  elixir  to  a  sick  man,  and  it  is  little  wonder 
that  earth-bound  spirits  crowd  to  seances  or  that  those  who  only 
know  how  much  better  they  feel  from  attending  a  seance  should 
be  loud  in  praise  of  the  good  a  seance  is  doing  them  and  oblivious 
to,  or  ignorant  of,  the  fact  that  the  life  essence  they  absorb  must 
have  been  drawn  from  some  living  person  in  the  flesh,  since  only 
persons  in  the  flesh  can  give  off  earthly  magnetism  to  blend  with 
that  higher  magnetism  which  also  is  what  the  poor  earth-bound 
spirit  lacks  and  cannot  obtain  unaided.  An  earth-bound  spirit 
is  like  one  who  belongs  to  neither  earth  nor  heaven  nor  Gehenna. 
He  has  lost  his  hold  on  the  earth  life  and  not  yet  attained  to  the 
spirit  world.  He  lives  in  his  Astral  body  and,  having  nothing 
of  his  own,  must  borrow  from  those  both  above  and  below  him 
on  the  ladder  of  development.  We  cannot  here  explain  all  that 
the  study  of  the  earth-bound  Astral  body  would  lead  to,  but  we 
should  much  desire  to  see  the  nature  and  structure  of  that  body, 
and  its  relation  to  both  the  true  spirit  body  and  the  earthly  en- 
velope, made  the  subject  of  scientific  study  by  the  student  of 
Occultism,  for  it  is  through  this  knowledge  that  the  causes  and 
cure  of  obsessions  will  be  found. 

We  admit  that  physical  phenomena,  like  every  other  form  of 
phenomena,  has  its  place  and  its  use  in  demonstrating  the  nature 
of  the  latent  powers  conferred  on  man,  but  we  object  to  the 
indiscriminate  use  of  it,  with  disastrous  and  often  fatal  results. 
It  would  be  wiser  to  recognise  and  admit  the  evil  and  the  danger 
and  set  to  work  to  find  the  remedy,  than  deny  what  is  proved 
by  thousands  of  instances  of  obsession  and  ruin  amongst  ignorant 
or  thoughtlessly  confiding  mediums. 

Magnetic  treatment  is  one  of  the  remedies  for  obstinate  cases 
of  obsession,  but  it  ought  to  be  very  cautiously  applied  because 
under  certain  conditions  magnetism  will  only  increase  the  evil. 
The  majority  of  magnetisers  do  not  possess  sufficient  knowledge 
of  the  different  forms  of  obsession  nor  of  the  different  effects  of 
the  magnetism  of  the  astral  and  physical  planes.  The  whole 
subject  is  in  need  of  an  altogether  wider  study. 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  281 

Mediumship  is  a  necessity.  Without  it  there  would  be  no 
means  of  knowledge,  no  instruments  through  which  to  study  the 
Occult  plane,  but  mediumship,  in  exact  proportion  to  the  mag- 
netic powers  it  confers,  becomes  a  greater  and  ever  greater  source 
of  danger  the  further  its  development  is  carried,  unless  the  con- 
trol of  those  powers  can  be  held  with  a  firm  hand  and  understood 
in  all  their  aspects.  At  the  present  moment  mortals  have  not 
got  sufficient  knowledge  to  make  the  universal  practise  of  me- 
diumship safe,  and  it  would  be  wiser  to  limit  its  development  to 
those  who  intend  to  make  it  the  business  of  their  lives  and  who 
possess  logical  powers  of  brain,  strength  of  will,  and  purity  of 
purpose,  as  well  as  gifts  of  a  high  order. 

The  majority  of  slightly  endowed  dabblers  in  mediumship 
whom  one  meets  on  all  sides  are  simply  wasting  time  and  creating 
a  danger  to  themselves  and  others.  Knowledge  is  the  best  safe- 
guard, and  knowledge  will  be  best  obtained  from  those  who  can 
study  all  the  conditions  of  spirit  life,  not  from  those  whose  ex- 
periences have  only  been  of  a  nature  to  put  them  in  harmonious 
touch  with  certain  of  the  bright  spheres  of  good  and  happy  spirits. 

What  we  would  like  to  see  would  be  the  conditions  under 
which  there  could  be  a  development  of  mediumship  such  as  would 
reproduce  some  of  the  more  subtle  forms  of  phenomena  known 
to  the  old  Magicians,  many  of  whom  were  very  highly  endowed  men 
with  a  far  greater  knowledge  than  is  shown  by  the  fragmentary 
records  they  have  left.  But  to  reproduce  these  experiments 
would  require  the  development  of  just  those  mediums  whose 
gifts  lie  on  the  blended  Astral  and  physical  planes,  and  who  are, 
as  we  said,  the  mediums  whose  powers  are  the  most  dangerous 
to  develop  in  the  mixed  conditions  in  which  public  mediums  at 
present  have  to  live.  A  very  special  course  of  development  for 
such  mediums  is  also  required,  and  very  few  would  have  the 
self-sacrifice  to  submit  to  the  long  and  tedious  process  or  give  up 
all  that  they  would  have  to  resign.  In  the  old  days,  a  Magician, 
when  he  found  such  a  medium  as  a  young  child,  bought  that 
child  for  a  slave  and  did  with  it  what  he  chose,  and  through  such 
a  medium  the  Magician  made  a  study  of  the  Astral  body  and 
the  Astral  plane  of  earth  life,  and  those  who  wish  to  obtain  the 
knowledge  of  that  plane  will  have  to  find  such  mediums  in  order 
to  learn  by  actual  demonstration  the  facts  the  old  Magicians 
discovered. 

But  no  experimenter  ought  to  attempt  to  develop  or  use  that 


282  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

or  any  other  form  of  magnetic  mediumship,  until  the  experimenter 
understands  the  nature  and  dangers  of  the  force  he  is  studying. 
To  allow  all  sorts  of  ignorant  people  to  experiment  with  their 
own  and  others'  magnetic  forces  is  like  throwing  open  to  the 
public  a  chemical  laboratory  full  of  jars  and  vials  containing 
the  most  powerful  and  deadly  poisons.  A  study  of  the  subject 
is  a  necessity  of  the  age;  but  in  making  all  freely  welcome  to 
enter  upon  that  course  of  study  the  most  clear  and  decided 
warnings  ought  to  be  given  as  to  the  dangerous  nature  of  the 
elements  which  will  have  to  be  dealt  with  during  that  course  of 
study.  In  all  ages  this  has  been  true,  and  although  a  fair  number 
of  persons  year  by  year  safely  carry  on  a  little  routine  of  simple 
experiments,  they  owe  their  safety  to  the  fact  that  such  gifts  as 
they  employ  do  not  put  them  in  touch  with  the  sphere  from 
which  the  true  dangers  arise,  and  even  though  they  themselves 
escape  harm  there  are  numerous  cases  where  persons  who  have 
joined  in  these  experiments  have  suffered  seriously  afterwards, 
from  the  simple  reason  that  the  mediumship  of  the  sufferers 
proved  to  be  on  a  different  plane,  and  once  the  development  was 
begun  by  good  but  often  half-instructed  spirits,  it  has  passed 
beyond  their  control,  and  the  sensitive  has  been  taken  possession 
of  by  another  class  of  spirits  and  developed  onto  the  dangerous 
plane.  As  regards  the  two  forms  of  magnetism  which  are  classed 
as  Astral  and  Physical,  we  say  that  the  fundamental  difference 
between  them  is  due  to  the  different  planetary  conditions  under 
which  the  Astral  people  and  the  Physical  people,  or  spirits  of 
the  Adamite  race,  were  created.  We  speak  of  Physical  spirits 
when  we  mean  those  spirits  who  obtained  their  original  individual 
consciousness  with  their  incarnation  upon  the  planet  earth  at 
the  period  of  its  perfect  physical  (or  present)  stage  of  evolution. 
This  race  is  called  by  old  writers  the  Race  of  Adam,  or  first  per- 
fected type  of  man  in  the  physical  form  on  earth.  As  distin- 
guished from  the  Adamite  Race,  old  writers  speak  of  the  Astral 
people  and  of  a  mixed  race  whom  they  called  the  "Dwellers  on 
the  Threshold,"  and  while  the  Western  nations  have  lost  trace 
of  these  ancient  traditions,  the  Eastern  schools  of  Occultism 
and  Theology  have  retained  a  belief  in  them  as  a  part  of  their 
teachings.  With  the  lapse  of  time  much  confusion  and  many 
errors  have  crept  into  the  teachings  given  regarding  these  two 
races,  but  the  main  features  will  be  found  alike  in  all  countries 
both  East  and  West,  where  any  traditions  survive,  and  although 


THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN  283 

the  arrogance  of  Adamite  man  has  made  him  believe  that  to 
him  alone  was  the  gift  of  Immortality  given,  the  oldest  records 
go  to  show  that  the  Astral  race  was  no  less  immortal  and  num- 
bered amongst  its  people  good  as  well  as  evil  Intelligences  of 
the  highest  order. 

These  spirits  who  have  never  known  incarnation  in  the  con- 
ditions of  the  Adamite  race  cannot  be  seen  by  man,  but  they 
can  and  do  act  upon  him  through  the  intervention  and  medium- 
ship  of  that  intermediate  race  who  have  blended  with  both  the 
Astral  and  Adamite  races  and  whose  origin  and  kinship  with 
man  cannot  be  explained  here,  but  which  have  been  fully  given 
in  another  story  which  will  follow  this  one. 

It  is  from  the  mediums  upon  earth  who  can  hold  converse 
with  this  dual  race  of  Dwellers  on  the  Threshold,  that  all  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  Astral  people  has  been  derived  in  ancient  times, 
and  it  is  of  course  partly  due  to  the  necessary  imperfections  in 
all  mediums  that  certain  errors  have  crept  into  accounts  of 
them,  for,  as  we  have  elsewhere  shown,  the  minds  of  the  earthly 
Inquirers  who  questioned  the  mediums,  often  dominated  them 
to  the  exclusion  of  the  spirit  controls,  hence  the  ideas  of  Adamite 
man  got  mixed  with  the  revelations  given  him.  If  a  study  of 
the  Astral  Plane  were  opened  up  now  by  careful  and  thoughtful 
students,  much  could  be-  learned,  but  not  until  the  systematic 
development  and  safeguarding  of  the  Astral-physical  mediums 
was  established,  could  it  be  attempted.  These  mediums  were 
the  subjects  in  olden  times  of  the  witchcraft  manifestations, 
either  innocently  or  with  a  knowledge  and  evil  use  of  their  power, 
and  a  study  of  the  apparently  absurd  or  wildly  imaginative 
details  given  at  many  of  the  witch  trials  would  indicate  one 
direction  in  which  to  seek  for  the  causes  of  obsessions.  Mediums 
belonging  to  the  class  of  mixed  Astral  and  physical  medium  ship 
ought  never  under  any  circumstances  to  be  tempted  to  sit  for 
development  in  mixed  circles  or  allow  themselves  to  be  treated 
magnetically  even  for  curative  purposes,  because  all  magnetism 
will  tend  to  'the  uncovering  and  development  of  the  powers  of 
their  Astral  body  and  put  them  at  once  in  touch  with  the  Astral 
plane  of  the  Earth  sphere — that  sphere  from  which  come  the 
worst  evils  which  can  afflict  humanity  once  the  barrier  be- 
tween it  and  man  is  taken  away.  Since  no  one  knows  to 
what  class  their  mediumship  may  belong,  is  it  not  wiser  to 
avoid  developing  it  unless  there  be  good  reason  to  believe 


284  THE  STORY  OF  AHRINZIMAN 

that  in  doing  so  valuable  knowledge  and  useful  power  will  be 
gained  ? 

When  we  reflect  upon  the  enormous  degree  of  power  which 
a  finely  developed,  highly  endowed,  Astral-physical  medium 
posesses,  and  that  such  power  once  developed  can  be  used  for 
good  or  for  evil,  according  to  the  minds  under  whose  control 
the  power  is  held;  we  cannot  wonder  that  such  gifts  filled  people 
with  fear  in  olden  times,  or  that  when  so  many  evil  practitioners 
of  the  Black  Arts  obtained  and  developed  these  mediums,  a 
reign  of  terror  prevailed  which  caused  afflicted  humanity  to  call 
in  the  aid  of  the  laws  and  sweep  all  such  persons  and  their  knowl- 
edge from  the  earth,  and  that  every  religion  has  prohibited  the 
use  or  development  of  such  powers  amongst  the  laity.  It  has 
been  thought  that  the  accounts  of  witchcraft  in  all  lands  are 
more  or  less  exaggerated  and  highly  colored,  but  we  assert  that 
within  the  lifetime  of  the  younger  members  of  the  present  gener- 
ation there  will  be  again  a  reproduction  of  all  the  worst  features 
of  those  past  epochs  of  evil  power — a  still  more  widespread  reign 
of  fear  and  danger  will  arise,  because  the  number  of  persons 
who  are  developing  and  using  magnetic  powers  is  greater  than 
in  the  past,  and  all  these  persons  will  become  the  tools  of  those 
who  desire  either  good  or  evil  results;  they  will  be  the  instru- 
ments through  which  the  occult  forces  will  act  in  the  time  of 
conflict.  The  various  churches  and  schools  of  philosophy  will 
all  take  their  share  in  the  approaching  conflict,  just  as  they  did 
in  past  times.  And,  as  in  the  past,  so  in  the  future,  the  victory 
will  be  with  those  who  possess  the  largest  number  of  followers 
and  the  most  knowledge  with  which  to  fight  the  side  opposed  to 
them. 

The  Spiritualists  represent  one  of  the  efforts  made  by  those 
in  the  spirit  life  to  prepare  for  the  coming  struggle.  The  Socie- 
ties of  Eastern  Mystics  represent  another.  The  churches  repre- 
sent a  third.  The  Free-thought  schools  are  an  attempt  by 
materialistic  spirits  to  free  men's  minds  and  give  to  each  his  sov- 
ereign power  over  his  own  brain  and  his  own  power  of  action. 
The  age  is  an  age  of  Freedom  and  of  Reason;  let  every  one,  then, 
welcome  all  schools  of  thought  which  can  aid  in  giving  to  man 
that  knowledge  of  the  obscure  and  dark  places  in  nature's  king- 
dom, which  will  prove  his  best  antidote  against  the  approaching 
evil. 


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